Ukrainian Deputy PM speaks with Hungarian Foreign Minister

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, spoke with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Monday.

Source: European Pravda, citing Stefanishyna on Twitter (X)

The deputy prime minister said that during an "important exchange of views" with Szijjártó, they had had a detailed discussion on "the steps of reforms that Ukraine has taken within the framework of the seven criteria" of the European Commission, with a special focus on protecting the rights of national minorities.

"On Friday, the Ukrainian parliament voted for important changes to sectoral legislation developed in the process of broad inclusive dialogue. We agreed to work together with the Hungarian side to ensure its proper implementation," she added.

Stefanishyna also said she hoped to meet with Szijjártó in Kyiv "one of these days".

Szijjártó gave a brief report of the meeting on Facebook, essentially repeating Stefanishyna’s statement, just as he did after his previous conversation with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

"There are many ways to strengthen cooperation between the European Union and Ukraine, but the community is not ready to start accession negotiations today. That is the reality," he said.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is known to oppose the opening of EU membership talks for Ukraine and does not even want the issue to be raised at the summit. He is also unwilling to support the €50 billion multi-year funding facility or the EU's military support programme for Ukraine.

Contact between Kyiv and Budapest has intensified in the run-up to the European Council meeting on 14-15 December.

For instance, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the Hungarian prime minister on Sunday at the inauguration of Argentina’s new president, and the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Hungary, Dmytro Kuleba and Péter Szijjártó, held their first face-to-face meeting since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

Last week, Andrii Yermak, Head of the President's Office, spoke to Szijjártó by phone.

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