Ukraine lifts its advice to citizens to refrain from travelling to Hungary, - Foreign Ministry

Refrain from travelling to Hungary: Foreign Ministry lifts recommendations

The Foreign Ministry is lifting its previous advice to citizens to refrain from travelling to Hungary.

This was announced by Minister Andrii Sybiha, reports Censor.NET.

Details

"We are lifting the advice to citizens to refrain from travelling to Hungary.

Following the conclusion of the election campaign in Hungary yesterday, the Foreign Ministry is lifting its previous recommendations for citizens to refrain from travelling to Hungary. This election campaign, which, unfortunately, was rife with manipulation regarding Ukraine, is now behind us. Consequently, the heightened risks of provocations, which led to the introduction of these restrictions, have subsided," the minister noted.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects that, in political terms, the election results will lead to a normalisation of relations.

"Ukraine is ready to work towards achieving this goal. ... I also wish to set Ukrainians’ expectations on a realistic footing. Ahead lies painstaking, pragmatic and calm work to find common ground, restore mutual respect and realise shared pragmatic interests. Our peoples deserve for us to follow this path, and we will work to restore good neighbourly relations in the interests of our two countries and Europe as a whole," Sybiha concluded.

Elections in Hungary

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has publicly conceded defeat for his political party. He noted that responsibility for forming a government now passes to the election winners.
In Hungary, 98.93% of votes have been counted, with Magyar receiving over 69% of the vote.

What led up to this?

Earlier, the Hungarian Prime Minister blocked a €90 billion loan for Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of deliberately blocking oil transit from Russia via the "Druzhba" pipeline, which was damaged as a result of Russian attacks.
The day before, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alluding to Orbán, stated that if the €90 billion EU loan to aid Ukraine continued to be blocked, "this person’s address" would be provided to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Hungarian government regarded the Ukrainian president’s statement as an "open threat".
This caused a major scandal in Hungary, to which even the opposition reacted. The leader of the Hungarian opposition party "Tisza," Péter Magyar, called on Zelenskyy to apologise for his words, which he described as "threats" against Orbán.
Orbán stated that Hungary would break through the "blockade" of the "Druzhba" oil pipeline "by force ".
Subsequently, seven employees of Oschadbank were detained in Hungary on suspicion of money laundering. Among those detained, it is said, is a retired general of the Ukrainian security services.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised citizens to refrain from travelling to Hungary.
A team from the National Bank of Ukraine is travelling urgently to Budapest following the detention of cash collectors.
The Ukrainian National Police have launched an investigation.
The Hungarian government has stated that the seven Ukrainian cash collectors will be deported.
On the evening of 6 March, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha announced the release of the seven Ukrainian cash-in-transit employees who had been detained in Hungary.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that on the morning of 11 March, a group of Hungarian citizens entered Ukrainian territory without official status or scheduled official meetings.
President Zelenskyy stated that he was unaware of what the Hungarian delegation was doing in Ukraine.
Subsequently, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Zelenskyy of lying and published a Hungarian note suggesting that Budapest had requested a meeting between Cepec and Ukrainian Minister Denys Shmyhal.
At the same time, the Foreign Ministry’s note indicates that the Hungarian side had not coordinated its delegation’s visit to the Druzhba oil pipeline with Ukraine and had received proposals from Kyiv regarding alternative dates for the visit.