Hungary wants to boost trade and economic cooperation with Ukraine

[Baluarte]

Budapest – Hungary is interested in boosting trade and economic cooperation with Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.

"The recent developments in Cyprus make it absolutely clear for Hungary that one-sided foreign trade, which now characterizes Hungary, is in a sense a barrier," he said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov in Budapest on Thursday.

"75-78% of Hungarian exports go to the West, and we are not using the opportunities of the East, including Ukraine. We have discussed today the prospect for using these opportunities," he added.

Orban said that Hungary considers Ukraine a very promising country.

According to him, the two parties also discussed the cooperation in cultural area, in particular, holding Days of Ukrainian Culture in Hungary.

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Always good to find new friends. Specially to get closer to the other countries shunned by the West.

[Szegedist]

holding Days of Ukrainian Culture in Hungary.

What?? Why not Days of Congolese culture too?

[Baluarte]

If I'm not mistaken, some parts of modern Ukraine were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
They are an European Christian country with historic links to you (even though they may be Eastern Orthodox Slavs) that could help economically. Why degrade them and compare them to Congo?

Very unbecoming Szeg.

[Szegedist]

Ukraine is a fake state, there are no such people as the "Ukrainians". There are Rusyns, Cossacks, Tatars, Poles etc.
The Ukrainian identity itself was an Austrian invention, in order to cause divisions among the Poles and Rusyns in Galicia.

And you are correct, parts of Ukraine were part of Austrian Empire, while part of Ukraine was also part of Hungary for 1000 years.

Not so long ago, Ukrainian nationalists beat up Hungarians celebrating the 1848 revolution, and tore up the Hungarian flag they were carrying. Also their nationalists hate us:

http://kuruc.info/galeriaN/egyeb/verecke11082503.JPG
http://kuruc.info/galeriaN/hir/verecke_emlekmu_fest1216_480.jpg
http://kuruc.info/galeriaN/egyeb/verecke11082502.JPG
http://kuruc.info/galeriaN/egyeb/verecke11082503.JPG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verecke_Pass#History

It is nothing more than a fake mafia state, created out of stolen land, who they can't take care of. Ukraine is very, very backward. Ukrainian doctors move to Algeria for a better life.

[Baluarte]

It's most likely true. A Russian friend of mine once told me: "Eastern Ukraine is Russia. Western Ukraine is Poland".

Probably artifical yes, but does it mean Orban's proposal is bad?
You've always told me that Hungary needs new markets in the East to fight the dependance in the West. If Ukraine is so backwardish, it means you'll have the trade and industrial advantage.

Even if Ukraine is tore apart in the future and split between Russia, Poland or any other country, today, it's a smart move.

[Szegedist]

As long as its purely business then it's ok. But any attempt to create some kind of Ukrainian-Hungarian brotherhood, they can not bother.

Also, Ukraine should respect the Autonomy of Subkarpatia. The majority voted for it, but the Ukrainian goverment ignored it. I think it should be an autonomous district within Hungary. In the 90s they wanted to see what we would do, our idiot politicians sat on our hands and now its part of Ukraine.

[Baluarte]

Yet another moment where you have the chance to teach me something.
Can you explain to me what Subkarpatia is and its history/problematic?

Much appreciated :)

[Szegedist]

Subkarpatia was historically part of Hungary, and it was populated by a mixture of Rusyns and Hungarians. After Trianon it became part of Czechoslovakia. Then we regained it. Then it went to USSR, some of the Hungarian population there deported (málenkij robot), and the Rusyns there were Russified and Ukraified.