Hungary summons Ukrainian ambassador over raids on ethnic Hungarian organisation

FILE PHOTO: Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto is seen during a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam October 16, 2020. REUTERS/Kham

BUDAPEST/KYIV (Reuters) - Hungary summoned the Ukrainian ambassador and accused its neighbor of intimidation on Monday after Ukraine’s state security service (SBU) raided the offices of ethnic Hungarians, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

The two countries have repeatedly clashed in recent years over what Hungary said were curbs on the rights of around 150,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine to use their native tongue, especially in education, after Ukraine passed a law in 2017 restricting the use of minority languages in schools.