Minister of Foreign Economy and Foreign Affairs of Hungary Péter Szijjártó said that Ukraine's decision to ban the entry of two Hungarian officials for campaigning in Zakarpattia during local elections is an unfriendly step on the part of Kyiv.

According to Deutsche Welle, citing Reuters, in a video statement posted on Szijjártó's Facebook page on Tuesday, the Hungarian minister said that Budapest has not received formal notice of the entry ban for two Hungarian officials.

According to him, Ukraine had taken "unfriendly steps" towards Hungary by summoning the Hungarian ambassador and deciding to ban the entry of the two officials, and this decision itself is "pathetic and nonsense."

"With this Ukraine sends the message [...] that it has given up on Hungarian support for its euroatlantic integration efforts," Szijjártó said.

He also welcomed the victory of Hungarian candidates Ukrainian local elections.

As reported, on the morning of October 25, Minister of Foreign Economy and Foreign Affairs of Hungary Péter Szijjártó on his Facebook page called on the Hungarian of Zakarpattia to support the KMKS Party of Hungarians of Ukraine in the local elections, as well as incumbent Mayor of Berehove Zoltan Babiak. He also said that residents of Zakarpattia, who are in Hungary, can cross the border to vote and return without the obligation to undergo the 14-day lockdown.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry assessed this as direct campaigning and said that "in this way, official Budapest brazenly confirmed its direct interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine and dealt an insidious blow to the consistent efforts of Ukraine to constructively solve the problems existing in Ukrainian-Hungarian relations."

On October 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has invited Ambassador of Hungary István Íjgyártó to Ukraine in for talks after issuing a note of protest in connection with the facts of political agitation of Hungarian officials in favor of one political party in the local elections of Ukraine on October 25, 2020.