RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 142, 27 July 1998

ORBAN HESITANT ABOUT HUNGARIAN INVOLVEMENT IN KOSOVA. Prime
Minister Viktor Orban told journalists in Brussels on 24
July that Hungary "would like to be more cautious" about the
possible involvement of its forces in Kosova than it was in
the case of Bosnia. He said the large number of ethnic
Hungarians living in Serbia, as well as the fact that some
500 ethnic Hungarian conscripts serve in the Yugoslav army
in Kosova, mean it is necessary "to make a clear
distinction" between the two conflicts. He added that
"Hungary would not like to be involved" in a possible
intervention in Kosova. Orban spoke after his first meeting
as premier with NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana. He
said Hungary is trying to convince the Serbian government
that ethnic Hungarian soldiers should not be involved in the
crisis. MS

HUNGARIAN PREMIER IN ROMANIA. Viktor Orban, during a private
visit to Romania on 25 July, met with Prime Minister Radu
Vasile and President Emil Constantinescu to discuss
bilateral relations and minority problems. Orban said after
meeting with Vasile that "protocol has been replaced by
friendship and sincerity." He said he is convinced that
"both sides are ready for a dialogue" but rather than
building future relations on "illusions and hopes," they
must be forged on the basis of "concrete results." Vasile
informed Orban about the setting up of a government
commission to study the feasibility of a Hungarian-language
university in Cluj, saying the commission must be "allowed
to work without stirring up emotions." Orban also expressed
support for the ethnic Hungarians' demands to set up the
university. MS

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RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
___________________________________________________________
RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 142, 27 July 1998

HUNGARIAN HOSTAGES RELEASED IN CHECHNYA. Foreign Ministry
spokesman Gabor Horvath said on 25 July that two Hungarian
nationals kidnapped in October 1997 by gunmen in Grozny have
been released without the payment of a ransom by the
Hungarian government. He said paying a ransom would have
encouraged the kidnapping of other Hungarian nationals.
Horvath declined to provide further details on the release,
saying only that Budapest had "used the experience of other
countries" in handling similar cases in Chechnya. MS

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               Copyright (c) 1998 RFE/RL, Inc.
                     All rights reserved.
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