Kyiv, Budapest, January 29 (Xinhua) -- Yermak, director of the Ukrainian ** Office, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó held talks in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhgorod on January 29. According to the report of Ukrainian-Hungarian**, the two sides aim to strengthen dialogue and promote the improvement of bilateral relations through talks.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, Yermak said after the talks that the two sides clearly expressed their willingness to hold a meeting between the top leaders of the two countries as soon as possible, hoping that it would open a new page in relations between the two countries. Uzbekistan said that the visit is intended to strengthen dialogue and deal with common concerns.
Szijjártó said at a press conference after the talks that the purpose of his visit was to rebuild mutual trust between the two countries and that the two sides had taken encouraging steps in that direction, but "there is still a long way to go," Hungary** reported.
Szijjártó said that since 2015, the continuous erosion of the rights of ethnic Hungarians in the Transcarpathian region of western Ukraine has been the main reason for the tension between Hungary and Ukraine in recent years. He stressed that Hungary's position on the Ukrainian crisis is consistent and clear. "We support the territorial and sovereign integrity of Ukraine. We condemn war, and we hope that our neighbours will achieve peace as soon as possible. ”
Transcarpathian Oblast in western Ukraine, near the Hungarian border, is the main ethnic Hungarian settlement in Ukraine, home to about 150,000 ethnic Hungarian residents.
At the end of last year, Hungary vetoed the EU's 50 billion euro aid plan for Ukraine, arguing that the EU should not provide more money to Ukraine, but should end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. On February 1 this year, the EU will hold a special summit to discuss the issue of the aid plan for Ukraine again. (ENDS).