Hungarian, Slovak presidents hold talks on resolving disputes

Hungarian President Janos Ader held talks with Ivan Gasparovic, the first Slovak president to visit Hungary in nine years, in Budapest on Tuesday.

The two heads of state, in a joint press statement after the talks, said progress had been made in several key areas.

"Although differences over the key disputed issues remain", the talks were a major step towards making these disputes a thing of the past, Ader said.

They agreed that unresolved issues should be discussed on the basis of mutual respect, he said, adding that the two countries had cooperated successfully in several areas over the past few years. Two-way trade showed robust growth even amidst the current crisis, Ader said.

Gasparovic said that minority rights should be respected and enforced in both countries, even if Budapest and Bratislava have a different legal approach to some issues. Minorities enrich the countries where they are living, he said.