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Janos Martonyi: Romania not seen as 'enemy' by any Hungarian political force
None of Hungary's political forces considers Romania an 'enemy,' Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Janos Martonyi said on Monday, arguing that the governments of both countries feel that the situation of national minorities is not an internal issue and particularly, not a common European problem.
Speaking at a press conference in Bucharest about the relations between Romania and Hungary, Martonyi said that rows are not characteristic for them, but talks are.
The governments of both countries feel that the situation of national minorities is not an internal issue and particularly not a common European problem. (...) We do not question anybody's right to handle the minorities in Hungary and we believe the Romanian government's concern about the Romanian minority in any neighboring state is perfectly legitimate. We believe that, based on mutual trust and through a sincere dialogue, we can achieve the desired results, just as we did in the previous years, Janos Martonyi said at a conference delivered jointly with Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean.
He admitted that Romania - Hungary relations have had several more sensitive moments and urged the parties to show prudence in such situations. In Hungary there is no political force to consider Romania an enemy, concluded Janos Martonyi, according to the translation from Hungarian.
In Gyula, Mehkerek Romanian flag is raised
Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi said here on Monday that if anyone wants to raise the Szekler flag he is not against, as long as the Romanian minority's representatives can raise the Romanian tricolour flag in the Hungarian towns of Gyula and Mehkerek.
'I did not put the Szekler flag behind me. Who wants to put it, can put it with no trouble. If such a symbol is wanted, they are free to do it. In the same way that there is a Romanian flag on public buildings in Gyula or Mehkerek or other towns', Martonyi told a joint news conference with Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean.
The Romanian minister, in turn, stressed that a national minority's assuming its identity should not violate the law of the state on the territory of which they live.
'What we tried today on a sensitive issue relating the identity of the national minority, relating symbols, important topics - for the Romanian minority in Hungary, for example, the symbol of the statue of Andrei Saguna in Gyula is an important symbol, or Gojdu is an important symbol - but it is important that we should discuss how we manage such situations on the political-diplomatic channel and explain if there are various interpretations, the fact that it is not about preventing assuming the identity of a national minority, but this thing should be done in line with the legal framework of a state or another', Corlatean said.
He announced he presented his Hungarian counterpart 'an analysis of the Romanian legislation from a judicial viewpoint, in order to assist the Hungarian side understand all the legal nuances that are important when we have the demand of observing the Romanian law'.
ForMin Corlatean: Deveselu base to cover Hungary's territory as well
The Deveselu military base, southern Romania, will extend its defence range to include Hungary's territory when it becomes operational around the year 2015, Romania's Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean told a joint press conference on Monday in Bucharest with his Hungarian counterpart Janos Martonyi.
'On a political and military level, we continue our intense cooperation under emblematic projects, such as the Arad-Hodmezovasarhely joint battalion; the joint Tisa battalion, which also includes Slovakia and Ukraine, besides Romania and Hungary; Romanian's participation in the air base of Papa; Romania's presence at the NATO Excellence Centre in Budapest; Hungary's presence at the NATO Excellence Centre in Oradea, and many other bilateral as well as multilateral projects,' Corlatean added.