Ukraine declares Hungarian consul in Berehove persona non grata

Hungarian consul in the city of Berehove in Transcarpathia has been declared persona non grata and is obliged to leave Ukraine, - the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports.

It is noted that today, Ambassador of Hungary to Ukraine Erno Keshken was given a note with information that, in accordance with Article 23 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in connection with activities incompatible with the status of a consular officer, the consul of Hungary in the city of Berehove must leave Ukraine in the next 72 hours.

"We hope that Hungarian party will refrain from any unfriendly steps towards Ukraine in the future, and its officials will not violate Ukrainian legislation. We regard Hungarian- born citizens of Ukraine as a unifier in the relations between the two countries and call our Hungarian partners for the same", - the Ukrainian MFA noted.

Earlier, a video was posted showing a number of Ukrainian citizens receive Hungarian passports and take an oath of fealty to Hungary at the consulate of this country in Transcarpathian Berehove. The procedure was accompanied by the advice of the Hungarian diplomatic official not to inform Ukrainian authorities about the receipt of new documents. In response to this, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin reported that the video spread online is being tested for authenticity, and if it turns out to be real, the Hungarian consul can be expelled from the country. In turn, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced attempts to intimidate Transcarpathian Hungarians and threatened to complicate Ukraine's European integration even more. At the same time, the press service of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration stated that local residents have been receiving Hungarian passports at the consulate in Berehove for the past seven years.