Hungarian, Austrian foreign ministers mark 30th anniversary of Iron Curtain opening (adds details)

The foreign ministers of Hungary and Austria, Peter Szijjarto and Alexander Schallenberg, marked the 30th anniversary of the symbolic dismantling of the Iron Curtain in Sopron on Thursday. The commemoration was held at the exact spot where then Hungarian Foreign Minister Gyula Horn and his Austrian counterpart, Alois Mock, opened the sealed border by symbolically cutting the barbed wire fence on June 27, 1989. "The Iron Curtain imprisoned Hungarians, but it was only a matter of time before ... the core characteristics of the Hungarian people would surface..." Szijjarto said in his speech. "This is what the desire for freedom is like." He said central Europe today is home to "robust, developing, proud" countries which are able to cooperate according to national interests and contribute substantially to Europe's economy and security.