Hungarian official Istvan Grezha was not allowed to enter Ukraine because of Budapest’s interference in the local elections, “Evropeyskaya Pravda” writes.
Grezha is the authorized minister responsible for the development of cooperation between the region of Sabolch – Satmar – Bereg and Transcarpathia. On the morning of November 24, he arrived at the Luzhanka checkpoint in the Transcarpathian region, where the Ukrainian border guards informed him of the entry ban. After waiting an hour, the politician returned to Hungary. No official comments have been received.
According to the newspaper, Kiev knew about the planned visit of Grezha – on the eve of Budapest sent a special note. At the same time, unofficial sources in Hungary also knew that the official was recently banned from entering Ukraine.
On October 26, Kiev has already banned entry to two high-ranking Hungarian officials because of the campaigning of Budapest in Transcarpathia during the local election campaign. Officially, their names were not disclosed, according to sources, they are Grezha and the Hungarian Secretary of State, responsible for national policy in the government, Arpad Janos Potapi.
Head of Hungarian MFA Peter Siyyarto then called Kiev’s decision pathetic and senseless. On election day, he himself urged Ukrainian Hungarians to vote for the party “Society of Hungarian Culture of Transcarpathia” and the current mayor of Beregovo, representative of the Hungarian community Zoltan Babiak.
In 2019, a scandal erupted between Kiev and Budapest. A video from the Hungarian consulate in Transcarpathia appeared online, in which the consul handed out passports to local residents and swore allegiance to Hungary. Later it turned out that these were not passports, but a package of documents for obtaining citizenship. Ukraine expelled the consul from the country. Budapest responded similarly.