Budapest demands official status for Hungarian language in Ukraine

Hungary will stand up against if the new Ukrainian law on languages ​​does not grant the Hungarian language an official status.

"There is a fundamental principle which we proceed from: according to the international law, the rights already granted to minorities cannot be reduced. If earlier 10% of Hungarians in a village, town or district allowed for determining the language of this minority as official one, the new law will raise this threshold up to 33%. Of course, we will stand up against," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in an interview with the Yevropeiska Pravda online newspaper.

According to the diplomat, Hungary understands that the Ukrainian government seeks to reduce Russian influence, including by adoption of a corresponding law on language. However, Budapest does not agree that such measure should affect the Hungarian community.

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