Yesterday at 19:23
Photo from Ukrinform – UATV
Hungary has vetoed a joint statement of NATO ambassadors on Ukraine that was expected to be approved by the North Atlantic Council, which is currently in Ukraine.
“Hungary has vetoed a joint statement of NATO ambassadors on Ukraine,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced at the Eurasian Forum in Budapest, Daily News Hungary reports according to Ukrinform.
According to Szijjártó, Hungary “is not ready to sacrifice the interests of 150,000 ethnic Hungarians in western Ukraine for the sake of geopolitical interests.”
The Hungarian minister added that Budapest had also submitted several proposals for amendments to the joint statement which underscored that Ukraine should fulfill its obligations regarding minorities in accordance with international law. The Hungarian Foreign Minister stated that several proposals were based on the principles of the Council of Europe and the UN.
He stressed that the decision to veto the statement was taken after all Hungarian proposals had been rejected at the meeting of NATO ambassadors.
Szijjártó also said that “the deprivation of rights of minority of a NATO member state deserves at least to be mentioned in such a document” and that the statement should include a provision on the “restoration of these rights.”
The North Atlantic Council, which includes ambassadors of all 29 NATO countries is in Ukraine on October 30 and 31, 2019.
In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Budapest on October 30, 2019 and meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
At the same time, major bilateral high-level Hungary-Russia consultations and the Eurasian Forum are taking place in the Hungarian capital.
