No agreement on Slovak-Hungarian minority rights body

Slovakia and Hungary have failed to make further progress in implementing the friendship treaty they signed in 1995.

Following talks between the two sides in Budapest, the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Laszlo Kovacs, said Hungary had refused to accept Slovakia's proposed candidates to a joint minority rights committee.

Mr Kovacs said Hungary had asked its Slovak minority to name its own delegates and the same should apply to the Hungarian minority in Slovakia.

The Slovak Foreign Minister Zdenka Kramplova was later quoted as saying Hungary's record in protecting minority rights was woeful.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, she said Slovaks in Hungary had limited opportunities for maintaining its cultural identity and language.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service