The following press release was issued by the MTI, Hungarian News Agency: 

Washington, D.C. March 6, Thursday (Hungarian News Agency, MTI) – The interim Ukrainian government must defend the rights of the minorities – said on Thursday Maximilian Teleki, President of the Hungarian American Coalition (Coalition) at the pro-Ukrainian solidarity demonstration at the White House.

The President of the Coalition welcomed the self-moderation by the interim Ukrainian government and emphasized: the government has to keep showing restraint and has to respect the basic principles of a free and fair society.

 “A society, which promotes and protects not just the majority, but also the multilingual minorities to ensure, a pluralistic and representative Ukraine for the 21st century” – said Teleki in front of the office of the US President for the around five hundred people, who assembled under Ukrainian and other Central and Eastern European flags as well as under anti-Putin posters and banners which promoted the unity of Ukraine.

The speaker reminded: the military intervention is akin to experiences of 1956, 1968 and 1981, but in the middle of the Russian military intervention against Ukraine one should not forget the very alike intervention against Georgia in 2008.

JBANC (Karl Altau) – Maximilian Teleki at the pro-Ukrainian solidarity demonstration at the White House

“We have to call upon our leaders to accelerate Georgia’s admission into NATO” – he said.

Teleki also told that NATO members of the Visegrad countries that border Ukraine, and Romania, expressed their deep concern about the recent violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.   According to the President of the Coalition the military actions by Russia are not only in violation of international law, but also create a dangerous escalation in Europe.   

He ensured supporting the bailout package for Ukraine, and also the sanctions against Russia.  He pointed out that the sanctions are only effective, if those are jointly exercised and warned the leaders of the European Union, especially the ones of the United-Kingdom and Germany, not to put their economic interests ahead of freedom and democracy.

At the demonstration –  organized by American-Ukrainian organizations and representatives of churches – US representatives of Crimean Tatars, Polish, Lithuanian, White Russian, and Georgian, furthermore members of the US Congress and of non-governmental organizations expressed their solidarity beside the president of the Coalition.

Marcy Kaptur, Democrat Congresswoman, Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus talked about that the Congress is going to approve presumably later of the day $1 billion loan guarantee for Ukraine. The from Ukraine immigrated politician with Polish origin after all is also Co-Chair of the Hungarian Caucus, because of the high number of Hungarian American living in her constituency in Ohio. 

Janus Bugajski, Senior Associate of the Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) told that Moscow needs its own Maidan, because without democratic transition Russia has to face decline and breakdown.