Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on his Facebook page on Wednesday that a new border crossing point will be established between Nagyhódos (Hungary) and Nagypalád (Velyka Palad’, Transcarpathia, Ukraine). According to the minister, the agreement signed this week will increase the number of crossing points between Ukraine and Hungary to six.
Szijjártó recalled that less than a month ago, he had a telephone conversation with Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, during which they discussed several matters, including the border traffic agreement. This agreement encompasses the establishment of a new border crossing point between Nagyhódos and Nagypalád, as well as the potential for truck traffic at Beregsurány.
‘This week, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov and the Ambassador of Hungary to Kyiv signed the agreement on the matter. This finalizes the decision: a new border crossing will be established between Nagyhódos and Nagypalád, increasing the current five crossing points between our countries to six,’ Péter Szijjártó wrote.
FM Szijjártó added that the new border crossing facility will reduce queues and speed up border crossings between Hungary and Ukraine,
significantly improving the lives of people.
As reported by Hungarian Conservative, Péter Szijjártó and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met last Wednesday in Brussels. ‘In recent weeks, we have taken further steps to restore mutual trust in relations between Hungary and Ukraine,’ the Hungarian FM stated in a Facebook post at the time. He highlighted progress that has already been made, such as the amendment of the border traffic agreement, which will contribute to the elimination of undignified situations at the border between Hungary and Ukraine.
At the end of the post, Péter Szijjártó stated: ‘The government-supported infrastructure development on the Ukrainian–Hungarian border will enable the transshipment of one million containers and million million tonnes of wheat and edible oil per year at Fényeslitke, which could greatly help Ukraine to maintain its trade with Europe.’
The two foreign ministers last met in Ungvár (Uzhhorod) at the end of January, with Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andriy Yermak also present. This marked the first official bilateral meeting between the two sides since the outbreak of the war. Szijjártó emphasized at the time that the Hungarian government would persist until the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia regained the rights it held before 2015. These rights include the restoration of the legal status of national minority schools, the reinstatement of the Hungarian language school-leaving examination, and the unrestricted use of the Hungarian language in higher education, culture, public administration, and community life. The Foreign Minister then outlined the
government’s demands in fourteen points, which he handed over to his Ukrainian counterpart.
After the meeting in January, Dmytro Kuleba stated: ‘We want to regulate this issue in good conscience. Our starting point is that the Education Act will pave the way for EU membership, restoring the situation before 2017. I believe we have made a good decision, and the Hungarians of Transcarpathia have also welcomed it positively.’
The Ukrainian FM added that there are some details to be clarified, which the parties will discuss within the framework of bilateral dialogue, and the issue will be ultimately resolved.
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