The United States reacted positively to Hungary’s position on the areas of change for which it has drawn most criticism, said Deputy State Secretary for International Communications Ferenc Kumin on Friday, summing up the discussions he had in New York and Washington during his week-long visit to the United States.

Deputy State Secretary Kumin noted that his interlocutors acknowledged the swift and strong response by members of the Hungarian Government, Hungarian institutions and Parliament to the recent comments by a Jobbik MP in Parliament, adding that in such cases a swift reaction is essential.

In Washington Deputy State Secretary Kumin met with Brent Hartley, the State Department’s newly-appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, and Thomas O. Melia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL). He also had a working lunch with Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Michael Hammer.

During these discussions critical topics were also touched upon, Deputy State Secretary Kumin added, stating that American officials see the Hungarian situation in a much better light, thanks to the changes Hungary has made in the most disputed areas. The issue of the new electoral system did not come up in talks with State Department officials.

Deputy State Secretary Kumin also held talks with representatives of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (CoP), who voiced their concerns following the Jobbik MP’s anti-Semitic comments.

The American partners indicated that they would be pleased to see specific actions in the future to enable prevention of similar incidents. The Hungarian Deputy State Secretary added that there will also be on-going dialogue on this topic in the future between the parties.

The Deputy State Secretary’s talks also included topics such as freedom of the press, on which he emphasised that most previous concerns and worries had been resolved, while currently most of the experiences have been positive or neutral. The situation of Roma also received special attention during talks.

The week-long visit also included meetings with representatives of major media outlets, such as Fox News, CNN, Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Review of Books and The Washington Times. Deputy State Secretary Kumin also held talks with NGOs, including Freedom House, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), The European Institute, the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

(Prime Minister’s Office)