Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a warning against traveling to Kyiv unless absolutely necessary.
At a press conference on Wednesday, MFA spokesman Gábor Kaleta declared that some 500-600 Hungarians live in Kyiv, and that the MFA had no information about Hungarians in need of assistance. Border crossings to Ukraine are so far uninterrupted, Gábor Kaleta stated, and added that the Hungarian community in the western parts of Ukraine had not been directly attacked. "We hope that Hungarians will not become a target of attacks. ... It seems that developments in Transcarpathia are less violent than in other regions of Ukraine," the spokesman claimed.
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Acts of violence, whether committed by the Ukrainian government or the "extremist opposition", are unacceptable, Gábor Kaleta stressed. The international community should exert pressure on the Ukrainian government and introduce sanctions if necessary to force the administration to take responsibility for a political settlement. The European Union must continue to offer a perspective for Ukraine and provide economic support to Ukraine's integration, the spokesman said. He voiced hope that Russia would support the political settlement and would avoid a direct intervention.
The EU foreign ministers will be meeting on Thursday to discuss the Ukrainian situation and will assess the possibility of introducing sanctions, Gábor Kaleta said.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
