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Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told on Tuesday a press conference held in Cluj-Napoca (426 km northwest of Bucharest), together with the leader of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR), Kelemen Hunor, that he would like his country not to be the subject of the forthcoming electoral campaigns in Romania.
"We are absolutely aware that Romania is facing electoral campaigns. So, it would be good for us if Hungary were not the subject of these campaigns. (...) June 4 is approaching. In our relations with Romania, we base these relations on mutual respect, but this mutual respect means that we accept or at least understand that the same historical event may have a different meaning for two different nations. For us, the Treaty of Trianon is one of the most difficult moments in Hungary's history, which is a historical fact. But we must not have a negative relationship, we must accept this historical fact and build positive relations in the future. We are prepared for that," Szijjarto said.
He added that he calls on the Romanian authorities to help the Hungarian minority.
"We would like to have positive, good relations with Romania, because this is also the interest of the Hungarian community in Romania. We ask the Romanian authorities to look at the community of 1.5 million Hungarians in Romania as a valuable resource, a resource that ties us, Romanians and Hungarians, a resource that brings its contribution to Romania's performance. We therefore ask the Romanian authorities to help the Hungarian community to use its national emblems, mother tongue and to preserve its traditions," said Peter Szijjarto.
For his part, UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor said, in reference to the Treaty of Trianon, that "you cannot ask a child to celebrate his mother's death."
"I can accept the fact that June 4 is a happy day for the Romanian community, but you have to understand that from the perspective of the Hungarians this day is not a happy one, because it was the day when we became the minority. So, you cannot ask us to celebrate this day, just as you cannot ask a child to celebrate the death of his mother. However, we can still project a future together (...) because in Central Europe, in this region, we need each other and we have to live in peace and with mutual respect, we have to step beyond these difficulties, because we are not enemies," said the UDMR chairman.
