Ukraine's ambassador to NATO, Vadim Pristaiko, said that Hungary's veto on the Alliance's cooperation with Ukraine irritates the member countries no less than Ukraine itself.
Pristayko said this, commenting on the Hungarian veto on Ukraine's cooperation with NATO and the corresponding ultimatum regarding its withdrawal.
"I hope that by joint efforts we will be able to solve the problem with Hungary, which irritates NATO no less than Ukraine itself. 11 NATO ambassadors sent a letter to the Hungarian colleague in which they expressed their misunderstanding how it is possible to abuse the principle of consensus in an organization such as NATO, "Pristayko cites European Truth.
In the opinion of Pristayko, the ultimatum of the Hungarian party to unblock cooperation with NATO is an unconcerned pressure. He recalled that the Cabinet of Ministers today supported the proposal to postpone implementation of the language clause of the law from 2020 to 2023.
"This is part of the concessions that we want to make to our Hungarian colleagues in order to resolve the situation," Pristaiko said..
The ambassador stressed that the cancellation of the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission does not mean that there are no contacts on the military line. The next meeting of defense ministers is scheduled for June, and Pristaiko expressed the hope that it will take place. He is also confident that in April the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission will take place at the level of Foreign Ministers.
Previously, Hungary used the right of veto and blocked the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO commission, which was to be held on February 14 or 15. Because of the position of Budapest, his visit to NATO Headquarters in Brussels was canceled by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak.
Budapest took a tough stance on the Ukrainian education reform, which in its view, violates the rights of the Hungarian minority to receive education in Hungarian.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siyarto said that Budapest would block further rapprochement between Ukraine and the EU, as well as NATO cooperation. The blocking will be carried out until the moment when Ukraine abolishes certain norms of educational reform.
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the recommendations of the Venice Commission have a possible solution to the Ukrainian-Hungarian conflict over the language article.
On February 12, Siyarto put forward a condition for ending the blocking of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO by Budapest.
According to the Hungarian Minister, to abolish the veto, Ukraine must comply with all the requirements of the Venice Commission and refrain from implementing the Law on Education until it comes to an agreement with national minorities, including the Hungarian.
Minister of Education of Ukraine Liliya Grinevich accused Siyarto of spreading manipulative statements and blackmail.