Hungary unexpectedly suspended negotiations with Ukraine on the rights of national minorities, according to the Ukrainian media, citing the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice. The talks, scheduled for May 12, were postponed by the Hungarian part, although the Ukrainian delegation has already arrived in Uzhhorod.
The objective of the talks was to review the 11 recommendations of Hungary aimed at ensuring the rights of the Hungarian minority in transcarpathy located in the mountains of carpaths in the southwest of Ukraine.
Tensions between the two countries have increased since the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) announced on May 9 that it had discovered a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Transcarpathia. Two former Ukrainian soldiers suspected of having collected sensitive military information for Hungary was detained. According to the SBU, the network was controlled by a Hungarian military intelligence agent.
In response, Ukraine expelled two Hungarian diplomats, which Budapest retaliated by expelling two Ukrainian diplomats. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, farting Szijjártó, described the Ukrainian accusations of “propaganda” and denied having received official information on the case.
On Friday, the center for the fight against terrorism carried out a spectacular operation in the center of Budapest, during which a Ukrainian citizen was arrested and prohibited from entering and staying in the country by the National Directorate of Foreigners for Espionage.
According to the Hungarian government, “the average man was expelled from Hungary during the night after the clarification of the situation, given the fact that his activities seriously threatened Hungarian sovereignty. The person concerned had already worked under diplomatic coverage, but his official status has now been dismissed.”
