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ORBÁN: HUNGARY, SLOVAKIA SEEKING SUCCESS TOGETHER

 

The peoples of Hungary and Slovakia “seek mutual respect, they want cooperation and they want to achieve success together,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said after talks with Igor Matovič, his Slovak counterpart, in Budapest. At a joint press conference after the talks, Orbán thanked Matovič for his gestures towards Slovakia Hungarians, as well as for Slovakia’s cooperation during the coronavirus epidemic. Hungary is proud of its Slovak minority, Orbán said, noting that the government has quadrupled its state support since 2010.
Referring to upcoming “events of historic significance”, Orbán mentioned the inauguration of a new bridge spanning the river Danube between Komárom and Komarno, three bridges across the Ipoly river and three new road crossings to be completed by 2022, as well as integrating the electric grids of Hungary and Slovakia and significantly increasing the capacity of the two countries’ gas interconnector. He added that Hungary and Slovakia would contribute to stability in central Europe through those projects.
Orbán called bilateral ties “fantastic”, adding that Slovakia was Hungary’s third largest trading partner. He also said that the Hungarian government had opened a 600 million euro loan fund with Eximbank to promote Slovak investments in Hungary.
Orbán asked his counterpart to “further support Hungarian-Slovak ties and maintain his good intentions towards the Hungarian community in Slovakia”.
Answering a question, Orbán said he had not raised the issue of the Trianon peace treaty at the talks, adding that he appreciated Matovič’s “gesture and touching remarks” on the subject. “Having the same position on Trianon would be impossible;… each side will hopefully come to terms with that subject so that it does not hinder future cooperation”. “Hungarians must live together with history’s injustice, because Trianon, from Hungary, will never look as a fair treaty,” Orbán said. Hungarians, however, “have a clear view of history” and are aware that they should build ties with neighbours in a way that events that happened a hundred years ago are not an obstacle. Orbán said he had “accepted his Slovak colleague’s hand” and his readiness to “leave the past behind and build a future”. Building a future requires partners and Slovakia could be a “natural, obvious, and friendly partner”, Orbán said.
Furthermore, Orbán said that “Hungarians are not determined by genetics but by their language and culture”, and asked Matovič “to be a good prime minister for ethnic Hungarians”, one who “understands that language and culture must never be suppressed because they are more important for Hungarians than life”. “We are the most western of eastern peoples”, Orbán said, and argued that Hungarians are the only surviving people of the masses that had left the East for the West. “We are the last remnants of the old steppe, and have subscribed for survival; we must be accepted the way we are,” Orbán said in conclusion.