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Lavrov, Szijjarto say Kiev must ensure rights of all ethnic minorities — Foreign Ministry

The ministry noted that the sides praised the achieved level of the Russian-Hungarian political dialogue

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. Foreign Ministers of Russia and Hungary Sergey Lavrov and Peter Szijjarto discussed the Ukrainian crisis by phone and underscored the necessity of ensuring rights of all ethnic minorities by Kiev, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The sides had an exchange of opinions on current issues of the international agenda. During the discussion of the Ukrainian crisis, both ministers noted the necessity of unconditional ensuring of rights of all ethnic minorities living in the country by Kiev," the ministry said.

The ministry noted that the sides praised the achieved level of the Russian-Hungarian political dialogue.

"It was emphasized that the bilateral agenda continues to gradually develop in the spirit of healthy pragmatism and mutual benefit despite the extremely complicated international situation," the statement says.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed his hope after the meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky that his visit will contribute to resolution of bilateral problems, including the rights of the Hungarian minority in the Trans-Carpathian Region.

Budapest has long been seeking to make Kiev restore the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine and warns that it would not support Ukraine’s Euro-integration aspirations otherwise. On December 8, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed the law on the rights of ethnic minorities with consideration of recommendations from the Venice Commission - a consultative body of the Council of Europe. The document implies the withdrawal of a number of language restrictions for national minorities that use official EU languages. Meanwhile, the restrictions on the use of the Russian language remain and become indefinite.

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Foreign policy Sergey Lavrov Hungary

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