ZAGREB, 28 April 2022 - Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday that Hungary and Croatia pursued their minority policies based on the principle of protection of ethnic minorities and that they could serve as an example to the whole of the EU.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with representatives of the Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia (DZMH), Szijjártó said that the Hungarian community in Baranja enjoyed steady and constantly growing support by the Croatian government and that the Hungarian government was doing the same with regard to the Croat community in Hungary.
Mutual respect between our nations and minorities makes it possible to deal with occasional difficult issues on the basis of mutual respect, and the DZMH and its president and MP Robert Jankovics have a major role in that regard, said Szijjártó.
He said that at the recent parliamentary election, Hungarians were choosing between war and peace and that they clearly opted for peace and security.
"We did not and will not make any decisions that would risk Hungary's involvement in the war in our neighbourhood," the Hungarian minister said.
Szijjártó said that 318,000 Hungarian expatriates, including those in Croatia, had taken part in the Hungarian election and that the Hungarian government wanted to enable all members of the Hungarian people to participate in making important decisions, which, he said, was something the left challenged for Hungarian expatriates.
He said that the Hungarians in Croatia could count on the support of their mother country in culture, religious life and economy.
Asked about the reception of Ukrainian refugees, Szijjártó said that it was the biggest humanitarian operation in Hungary's history and that so far Hungary had taken in 640,000 refugees from Ukraine.
Asked about the completion of the Hungarian section of the Vc international road corridor, Szijjártó said that the spring of 2024 was when the M6 highway should be connected to the Croatian highway section on the Hungarian border.
I hope the issue of Croatia's entry to the Schengen area will be resolved by then because if that does not happen, we will have to build a border crossing, which costs and is a waste of time. We hope we will not have to do it and we fully support Croatia's accession to Schengen, he said.
Jankovics thanked the Hungarian government for its help to Croatia during the 1990s war, coronavirus pandemic and earthquakes, as well as for its support to Croatia's bid to join the Schengen area of passport-free movement.
He noted that the result of the recent parliamentary election in Hungary meant that Croatian Hungarians would be able to continue their cooperation with the Hungarian government.
Our situation is a fortunate one because we can be loyal to our nation and be good citizens of Croatia, Jankovics said.
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