Hungary, Slovakia leaders discuss energy, historical tensions in phone call

Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico held their first phone conversation on Tuesday, discussing bilateral ties, energy cooperation, and long-standing historical disputes.

Magyar said future policy discussions with Slovakia would depend on guarantees regarding the rights of ethnic Hungarians living in the country.

"I made it clear that we can only engage in discussions on any policy matters if we receive guarantees" that Slovakia would repeal legislation threatening Hungarians with imprisonment, he said through US social media company X.

He also called for assurances that there would be no future confiscation of land belonging to ethnic Hungarians under the Benes Decrees, a set of post-World War II laws that remain a sensitive issue in Hungarian-Slovak relations.

Magyar said protecting the rights of Hungarian minorities in Slovakia would remain "the highest priority" for any Hungarian government, while signaling readiness to strengthen bilateral ties and revive cooperation within the Visegrad Group.

Fico said he congratulated Magyar on his election result and invited him to Slovakia for an official visit, adding that the two sides would first meet on the sidelines of an upcoming European Council summit in Brussels.

Fico emphasized his interest in maintaining stable relations with Hungary, particularly in the field of energy security.

"The main reason for my call was to learn about the positions of the new Hungarian political leadership regarding the reopening of the Druzhba oil pipeline and the lawsuit against the RePowerEU regulation," Fico said, referring to a joint legal challenge by Slovakia and Hungary against EU plans to phase out Russian energy supplies.

However, Fico acknowledged that the two sides hold "fundamentally different positions" on the Benes Decrees, describing the issue as a key point of disagreement in bilateral relations.

He also noted that Magyar, who has not yet formally taken office as prime minister, responded to questions in general terms during the call.