Nadia Prishlyak, Marta Gichko16:41, 06/19/23

min.776

Attempts to establish a constructive dialogue with the Hungarian authorities are ignored by official diplomatic channels.

All attempts by Ukrainian diplomats over the past few days to establish direct contact with Ukrainian citizens who have been returned from Russian captivity by Hungary have not been successful. 

This was announced on Facebook by the speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko.

He notes that everything is being done to return home eleven Ukrainian prisoners of war, whom Hungary, without the knowledge of the Ukrainian government or international human rights organizations, took out of Russia. 

Nikolenko noted that the information received from the relatives of some of the prisoners of war indicates that the assurances of the Hungarian authorities about the allegedly free status of Ukrainian defenders in Hungary “do not correspond to reality.” 

“In fact, they are kept in isolation, do not have access to open sources of information, their communication with relatives takes place in the presence of third parties, they are denied contact with the Ukrainian embassy,” the speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stressed.

He stressed that the attempts of the Ukrainian side to establish a constructive dialogue with the Hungarian authorities through official diplomatic channels are being ignored. 

At the same time, he emphasized that such actions of Budapest cast doubt on the humanitarian motives declared by him for the export of Ukrainians to Hungary and may be qualified as a violation of the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry once again appealed to the Hungarian side with a demand to immediately allow the Ukrainian consul to the Ukrainian prisoners of war, so that he could assess their physical and psychological condition, tell them about their rights, and provide urgent consular assistance. 

Nikolenko stressed that Ukraine is waiting for the return of our defenders and is ready to provide them with maximum assistance in reuniting with their families and providing the necessary rehabilitation.

At the same time , the Delfi publication reports that the situation with Ukrainian prisoners of war was commented on in the EU. In particular, European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said that Hungary should explain its role in this scandal.

“As for Hungary, its authorities should explain the details and their participation in the release of Ukrainian citizens held by Russia as prisoners of war, as well as Hungary’s communication on this issue with the Ukrainian authorities,” Stano said.

Hungary even managed to disgrace itself with a good deedHungary even managed to disgrace itself with a good deed

(C)UNIAN 2023