The deputy prime minister of Hungary, Semjen Zsolt, on Thursday afternoon stated, at a debate organized at the Summer University in Baile Tusnad, that Hungary's policy towards Romania is defined by what the UDMR (Democratic Union of Hungarians of Romania) says and no political gesture is made from Budapest to the detriment of Hungarians abroad.

'As for Transylvania, as for Romania, from a political point of view, nothing can happen from the Hungarian Government that would contradict Romania's interests, respectively the interests of Hungarians abroad. Our policy towards Romania is determined, defined, by what the UDMR says (...) We cannot imagine a history that would contradict the interests of the UDMR. So, if a grain of sand gets into the gears, we have to solve the problem in a few seconds,' said Semjen Zsolt.

The statement was made in the context in which the Hungarian deputy prime minister was asked about PM Viktor Orban's statements in Tihany in May, interpreted as a rapprochement with the leader of the AUR (Alliance for the Union of Romanians), George Simion.

Semjen Zsolt said that, following discussions with the leaders of the Hungarians in Romania, 'in a few seconds there was a settlement of the subject' and believes that Viktor Orban's relationship with the Hungarian community was not affected by these statements, recalling the constant support offered by the government in Budapest.

'We have a lifetime's work in the making. Citizenship, for example, supporting Hungarian communities abroad, a support that they never obtained before the Orban Government. (...) A single sentence cannot be opposed to all these results, of which the Hungarian community abroad is perfectly aware,' said the Hungarian official.

He also spoke about the elections in Romania and reiterated the support of the Budapest government for the UDMR, congratulating the Union 'for its political performances'.

In his turn, Kelemen Hunor spoke about the huge electoral mobilisation effort of the UDMR and the political context in Romania.

Regarding Viktor Orban's statements in Tihany and their effects among the electorate, the UDMR leader said that the situation was managed within 24 hours, following direct discussions with the leaders in Budapest.

'Victor Orban, whether he was in government or in opposition, has always been extremely popular in Transylvania and (...) he was not popular because he provided financial support to foundations, churches, even the economic sphere, but he was popular because the order of values that the Hungarians in Transylvania consider important has something in common with what Victor Orban represents, which is why I believe that neither in the medium nor in the long term, that statement will have consequences like those circulated in the press. No, it was a simple error and when a friend of yours makes an error, or especially the person who very quickly admits that he was wrong and immediately corrects it, even if the error occurred at a critical moment, then... (...) Each of us makes mistakes, you and I, any politician can make mistakes, but we forgive, we realize that he took what we said seriously,' said Kelemen Hunor, according to the translation.

The UDMR leader reiterated that Hungarians in Romania will never vote for AUR, claiming that the party's leader, George Simion, is 'a pseudo-Christian' and 'blatantly anti-Hungarian'. AGERPRES (RO: Gina Stefan, EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)