Foreign Minister János Martonyi said on Tuesday that he had raised the sensitive issue of the post-World War II Benes decrees during talks with his Slovak counterpart last week and, in relation to that, a possible apology from Slovakia.

Minister Martonyi confirmed on Tuesday that the subject had come up at last week's talks after Czech dailies reported on Monday that Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák had said it was conceivable that Slovakia and Hungary could compromise on the matter of the Benes decrees.

Minister Lajčák said in an interview on Monday that it was conceivable that Bratislava would apologise to ethnic Hungarians in the same way that it had apologised to ethnic Germans in 1990, but added that the "involvement of both sides" and the creation of "the appropriate atmosphere" were needed.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister said that he agreed with his colleague that confidence-building and more intensive intergovernmental relations have made it possible to raise issues on which views differed markedly between the two sides.

He added that based on Minister Lajčák 's statements it was possible that the issue of the Benes decrees could be settled. "The idea of collective guilt, even in a historical context, is unacceptable in today's Europe," the Hungarian Minister said. He declared that he had told his Slovak colleague the "path to mutual reconciliation and a closure of the past was an expression of apology towards Hungarians in Slovakia".

The Hungarian Foreign Minister, while in Bratislava, also visited the headquarters of the ethnic Hungarian Party of the Hungarian Community. Following the meeting, he pointed out that „the instruments of silent diplomacy” could be the most efficient concerning certain questions.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)