‼️ Response to the letter from the Ukrainian Embassy
As the leader of the largest parliamentary group in the Hungarian National Assembly, I reject the arrogant and lecturing tone and line of reasoning appearing in your letter, directed against Hungary, the Hungarian legislature, and the sovereign national decision-making rights that the Hungarian Parliament is entitled to under all circumstances.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that only Transcarpathia is part of Ukraine — our mother country is not.
We Hungarians have long been accustomed to the condescending yet irritated tone directed at us from other European cities as well — for example from Brussels — but this has never influenced our decisions: we are guided solely by Hungarian interests.
Yesterday the Hungarian Parliament said no to supporting the war, to Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, and to cutting Hungary off from Russian energy. According to you this is shameful; according to us it is necessary in the interest of the Hungarian people.
We also decided to provide our authorities with additional legal tools so that they can conduct as thorough an investigation as possible into the “Ukrainian gold convoy” case. Our concerns are realistic, therefore many questions must be clarified.
I trust that you will at least not dispute Hungarian jurisdiction on the territory of Hungary.
In the “Ukrainian gold convoy” case it was not the regular bank money transports that drew the attention of Hungarian authorities, but the fact that within two months more than one billion dollars and 160 kg of gold were transported under the leadership of a Ukrainian intelligence general — an astonishing amount, and the method of transport also differed from the usual rules.
We must determine how much of this went to Ukraine and how much of the funds of unknown origin remained in Hungary unused. Many aspects remain unexplained.
At the same time, I would like to point out that legal concerns have not only arisen on the Hungarian side but also in your country. You are certainly aware that a former prosecutor of the Ukrainian Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has also initiated criminal proceedings, claiming that “the case may be part of a large-scale money-laundering scheme.”
We find the part of your letter referring to the interests of Hungarians in Transcarpathia extremely hypocritical, since those Hungarians suffer numerous restrictions of rights from your authorities, face wartime forced conscription, and live in legal uncertainty.
We also condemn the fact that Ukraine is actively interfering in Hungarian electoral processes, supporting the Tisza Party with financial and information-technology tools, and — also for political reasons — illegally cutting off oil shipments toward Hungary, thereby endangering the energy security of all Hungarian citizens.
You have broken a valid contract in order to cause chaos in our country and, if possible, help the Hungarian left wing to power.
Ukraine has found a person in Hungary who would form a pro-Ukrainian government, and we acknowledge that you want to help him come to power and that you want to remove Viktor Orbán. However, we demand that contracts be respected and that President Zelensky not threaten the life of the democratically elected Hungarian prime minister simply because he stands up for the interests of his country.
Máté Kocsis
Leader of the Fidesz Parliamentary Group