BUDAPEST, May 11. /TASS/. Hungary has cancelled the May 12 talks with Ukraine on restoring the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia in the wake of an espionage scandal between the two countries, said Deputy Foreign Minister Levente Magyar.
"The events of the last few days in the Hungarian-Ukrainian relations preclude good-faith, constructive consultations on such an important and sensitive issue as minority rights," Magyar wrote on his Facebook page (banned in Russia; owned by Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist in Russia), referring to his meeting with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishina.
On May 9, Ukraine detained two people, accusing them of working for the Hungarian military intelligence. After that Hungary expelled two Ukrainian spies who worked under the diplomatic cover at the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest, while Ukraine responded by expelling two Hungarian diplomats from Kiev.
Magyar said that Ukraine’s actions "cast doubt on the sincerity of their intentions to resolve open issues" in relations with Hungary. "Let's see what happens in the next few days. For our part, we are still ready for dialogue," he concluded.
Earlier, he noted that Hungary and Ukraine have not yet made progress on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, which in the future will determine the possibility of Kiev's integration into European structures. Budapest believes that Ukraine has not restored the rights of ethnic Hungarians, which they had before 2015, for the use of their native language in the areas such as education and local government. The Hungarian government has repeatedly stated that its position on Ukraine's aspirations to join the European Union will largely depend on resolving this issue.