Romania condemns Hungarian historical atlas as provocation

Romania’s Foreign Ministry has expressed strong disapproval over the distribution of a geographical atlas featuring maps of “Greater Hungary” by Hungary’s delegation to NATO.

The controversy was reported by the Romanian media, citing statements from Romania’s ambassador to NATO, Caliber.Az reports.

On December 18, the Romanian Foreign Ministry issued a formal statement through its ambassador to NATO, condemning the dissemination of the atlas as a provocative act that undermines the strategic partnership between Romania and Hungary, as well as their ties within the NATO alliance.

"The Romanian Foreign Ministry expressed its disapproval of the dissemination of the aforementioned atlas, which is provocative towards the ties of strategic partnership between Romania and Hungary and NATO allies," the statement read.

It also reaffirmed Romania’s position, which has been consistently communicated to Hungarian authorities, emphasizing that any provocative actions or statements hinder the strengthening of bilateral relations. The Ministry stressed that the shared history between the two countries should remain the subject of scholarly research, rather than being used as a basis for provocative political actions.

The controversy surfaced after reports indicated that Hungary's ambassador to NATO, István Balogh, presented Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Radman with the atlas, which included maps of “Greater Hungary”.

This historical concept depicts a Hungary whose territory encompasses lands lost following World War I under the Treaty of Trianon, including Transylvania, which is now part of Romania.

By Vafa Guliyeva