Leader of Romania's Union of Hungarians denied entry into Ukraine
The leader of the Union of Hungarians of Romania and deputy of the Romanian parliament, Hunor Kelemen, was not allowed to enter Ukraine. According to his Facebook page, he was banned entry into Ukraine until October 2020.
According to Kelemen, he was going to Uzhgorod to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the local Hungarian organization “Society of Hungarian Culture of Transcarpathia”. He was kept in the border control zone for an hour, and then he was told that he can not cross the border. The official document, which he received, does not indicate the reason for refusal of entry.
Kelemen reported the incident to the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and on Monday he will ask for clarification from the Ukrainian embassy in Bucharest.
Later, the ambassador of Ukraine to Romania Alexander Bankov responded to the situation. He noted that Kelemen was aware of the existing entry ban, as he had previously received such a refusal when trying to enter Ukraine with a Hungarian passport. “Mr. Hunor Kelemen has been banned from entering the territory of Ukraine since March 11,2017. ... He knew exactly about the decision taken by the Ukrainian side,” wrote Bankov.
The ambassador added that this time, according to Ukrainian legislation, Kelemen was handed a decision with a refusal of entry into Ukraine, which he signed.
"It is true that the decision does not specify the motives, but this practice is common in all European states," wrote Bankov.