V4 Interior Ministers' Joint Statement on Ukraine

The Hungarian Minister of Interior along with the representatives of the Polish, Slovak and Czech governments explained that Hungary—just like Poland and Slovakia—is ready to carry out professional duties along their joint borders with Ukraine. The Hungarian border guards and police officers guarantee the safety of the borders and in case of a mass influx of Ukrainian refugees the authorities are ready to provide shelter and medical aid, if needed.

According to the joint statement the Ministers address the interim Minister of Interior of Ukraine to share the information on public order and security in Ukraine and to cooperate with the V4 counterparts. The Ministers of the Visegrad countries also expressed their condolences to those injured throughout the conflict and to the families of the casualties. They have confidence that the public order and security will shortly be restored in Ukraine. Therefore they welcome the steps and measures taken to stabilize the situation—the statement says.

Minister Pintér said that the Ministers of Interior of the V4 countries can react quickly to the events and are ready to take the necessary measures in the area. The speed and precision of the exchange of information made the meeting possible and ensures that in the future a common frame of thinking will be developed, on the basis of which any problems that might surface in the Visegrad countries can be solved.

Polish Minister of Interior Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz explained that Poland has a more than 500 km long joint border with Ukraine and there are 400 thousand Ukrainian citizens permanently in Polish territory. He added that so far only 40 people have asked for residence permit. He explained that Poland also provides intensive Humanitarian aid to Ukraine, 60 injured Ukrainian citizens are treated in Polish hospitals.

Minister Sienkiewicz also added that so far there has been no sign of unusually high number of refugees or any other symptoms that might refer to destabilization in Ukraine. The situation however is delicate and changes dynamically.

Minister of Interior of Slovakia Robert Kalinak also reported on the traffic at the borders. He said that all is quiet and they have a regular contact with their Ukrainian partners. He emphasized that in this situation strong attention must be paid to illegal migration and human trafficking.

According to Jan Sixta, Czech Deputy Minister for Internal Security, V4 cooperation proved to be successful even during the Ukrainian crisis due to the flawless flow of information. He added that as the Czech Republic has no shared border with Ukraine, their duty is to monitor and to keep contact with the V4 countries regarding refugees and humanitarian aid.

The guests expressed their gratitude towards Minister Pintér for organizing the meeting and they all emphasized that they will remain in close contact in the following days and weeks.

Source: Ministry of Interior of Hungary