Hungary government committed to settling ties with Romania, says foreign ministry

Budapest, October 15 (MTI) – Hungary is committed to and open towards settling ties with Romania which is also in the interest of the Hungarian community living in that country, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, welcoming recent remarks by Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu.

Speaking on a news programme on Wednesday evening, Aurescu said that the two countries should seek solutions based on consensus in their inter-state relations. A unilateral approach will not pave the way for permanent solutions, he said.

The basic treaty concluded in 1996 and the declaration on strategic partnership signed in 2002 are “clear points of reference” and “factors to be respected” in bilateral ties, he said.

Further, Aurescu indicated Romania’s intention to conclude negotiations on the protocol of the Romanian-Hungarian mixed minority committee that began in 2011.

The Hungarian foreign ministry said it welcomed Aurescu’s remarks, all the more so because recent political conflicts had hurt cooperation between the two countries.

It noted that the two countries’ foreign ministers held talks in Luxembourg on Monday.

The ministry called Romania Hungary’s strategic partner, and noted that both countries are members of the EU and NATO. Romania is home to a large Hungarian community and Hungary’s second biggest export market, it added.

The ministry welcomed that the Romanian government had given the green light to Hungarian fuels group Mol’s oil prospecting in the border region.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters