KIEV, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine and Hungary announced Thursday that they would expel each other's consuls as their passport dispute deepens.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry declared a Hungarian consul in Berehove town as a "persona non grata" in a statement and ordered him to leave the country within 72 hours due to "activities incompatible with diplomatic status."
"We hope that the Hungarian side will refrain from unfriendly steps towards Ukraine in the future and that its officials will refrain from violating Ukrainian legislation," the ministry said.
In retaliation, Hungary is expelling a Ukrainian consul, according to Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto. "The Hungarian consul expelled from Ukraine's territory did not contravene any law," Szijjarto said at a press conference in Budapest.
"Hungary has an interest in maintaining good relations with neighboring Ukraine, but in recent months Ukraine has been continuously aggravating the conflict with Hungary," Szijjarto said.
Ukrainian media published footage last month showing that the Hungarian consulate in Berehove near the border with Hungary issues Hungarian passports to ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine.
At the end of the video, someone can be heard saying that they should not use their Hungarian passports in Ukraine.
Budapest has granted Hungarian citizenship to about 100,000 ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine, according to local media.
Ukrainian law does not allow dual citizenship.
Diplomatic tensions have been rising between Ukraine and Hungary since September 2017 when Ukraine adopted a education law which makes Ukrainian the first language in secondary and high schools.
Some countries, which have large ethnic groups in Ukraine, have voiced concern that the legislation would deprive minorities in Ukraine of the right to learn in their mother tongue.
