Ambassador of Ukraine: “We are ready to discuss the law on education”

The Ambassador of Ukraine to Hungary, Lyubov Nepop, was interviewed by the Hungarian publication HVG. Mrs Ambassador herself commented on this interview as follows: "It is very important to understand each other’s feelings, but at the same time we must rise above emotions in order to be able to relieve the tension. We want to have constructive and balanced negotiations". Below is the text.

– The EU protects the rights of minorities to education. There are many Hungarian secondary schools in Transcarpathia, in which, according to the law, all instruction can be only in Ukrainian. What space remains for education in Hungarian? Will Hungary have to open private schools in this region?
– The law is not intended to make it impossible for schools to teach in minority languages. Instruction in Hungarian will remain at the level of secondary school, but at the same time, the teaching of the Ukrainian language as a state language will be improved. This means that in accordance with the principle of graduality, some of the subjects will be taught in Ukrainian; the proportions of those will be determined by another law, the law on secondary education, and educational programs.   
– It is understandable that Ukraine wants to defend itself against Russia’s influence based on the Russian minority, but what space do the minorities have to preserve cultural identity?
– This law is not directed against any minority, but it is true that Russia used the protection of the Russian-speaking minority as a pretext for the annexation of the Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine. Therefore, strengthening the state status of the Ukrainian language is a matter of national security for Ukraine, since the Ukrainian state language should take the role of a unifying factor, which, unfortunately, it failed to do before. But this is not assimilation. The minorities will continue to enjoy all the rights granted by laws for preservation of their national and cultural identity.
– Don’t you think compulsory use of the Ukrainian language is counterproductive? Don’t you afraid it will backfire and ultimately lead to a restriction of the expansion of the Ukrainian language?
– See, as a result of long Russian colonization of Ukraine, the Ukrainian language was oppressed in its own country. Therefore, we are forced to take measures to protect the Ukrainian language. And the overwhelming majority of the population supports it.
– How willing is Ukraine to make changes to the law in the light of criticism from the outside?
– We have repeatedly stated that we are ready for further negotiations with both leaders of national minorities and our foreign partners. We are confident that the provisions of this law do not violate either our national laws or international law and our international obligations. That is why we have sent the law to the Council of Europe for expert evaluation, and we will their conclusions take into account when implementing the law.
– How effective, in your opinion, is the rhetoric, argumentation and promised threats by the Hungarian side?
– In my opinion, it is very important to understand the feelings of each other, but at the same time we must rise above emotions in order to be able to relieve the tension. We want to have constructive and balanced negotiations.And we stick to this position. On October 12, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin will come to Budapest, and on October 19 we are waiting for the Minister of Human Resources Zoltan Balog in Kyiv. We believe in the success of the talks and that we will be able to dispel all the misconceptions about the law. Our position is the same: Hungary is a strategic partner of Ukraine, an ally and a friendly country! We count on further support!