Hungarian Foreign Minister does not change his mind about decisions on Ukraine at the EU summit after conversation with Kuleba – photo

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó spoke on Facebook about his meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. This was the first conversation of the two ministers since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda

Details: In his Facebook post, Szijjártó once again reiterated the Hungarian authorities' thesis that since 2015, Ukraine has "constantly introduced regulations that have increasingly restricted the rights of the Hungarian national community."

He confirmed that in his conversation with Kuleba, they spoke primarily about the EU summit’s  upcoming decisions on Ukraine, which, according to Budapest, "are of historic importance for the future of the entire EU".

"The proposal for the decision is unprepared, the European Commission has practically no idea about the impact of Ukraine's membership in the EU would have on the whole community. It is enough to think about what unmanageable problems the previous decision of the European Commission on grain transit or abolishing the mandatory licensing of Ukrainian trucks has caused," the Hungarian Foreign Minister wrote.

Other topics of discussion included the issue of national minorities and Ukraine's adoption of new legislation based on the recommendations of the Council of Europe and the European Commission.

"However, it is certain that both of us remain committed to the further development of bilateral relations," Szijjártó concluded.

Contacts between Kyiv and Budapest have intensified ahead of the European Council meeting on 14-15 December, where the decision to open accession talks with Ukraine and approve macro-financial assistance is to be considered.

Among other things, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister, at the inauguration of the Argentinian president on Sunday. And last week, Andrii Yermak, Head of the President's Office, spoke to Szijjártó by phone.

However, after these talks, Orbán called the Spanish presidency of the EU Council and persuaded them not to raise the issue of opening negotiations with Ukraine at the summit.

Support UP or become our patron!