Ukraine's Foreign Minister calls Scholz's request to Orbán to leave during vote on Ukraine historic

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has expressed his gratitude to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for persuading Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán not to veto the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU during the EU summit.

Source: Kuleba in a comment to Bild, as reported by European Pravda

Details: "What German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has done at the summit to deal with the threat of a Hungarian veto will go down in history as an act of German leadership in the interests of Europe," Kuleba said.

The official added that this week, the head of the German government had won a lot of sincere and well-deserved admiration in the hearts of Ukrainians.

The foreign minister recalled that when he advocated for Ukraine's EU candidate status in Berlin last May, his calls for Germany to take the lead in this process largely fell on deaf ears.

"'Germany does not want to be a leader,' experts and politicians in Berlin told me. I am glad that German political decisions have changed since then. I can only hope that this also means a broader and irreversible turn in Germany's attitude towards leadership on the most challenging issues," Kuleba said.

The minister stressed that Kyiv has many reasons to be grateful to Germany, ranging from military assistance to financial support, with political clarity on Ukraine's EU membership perhaps "the best Christmas present from Berlin", he added.

"Grey areas in Europe are no longer possible. Either you will paint the map of Europe in EU colours to guarantee security and prosperity for all Europeans, or Putin will paint it in blood and bring more suffering, instability and destruction. I am glad that we are all safer and more confident this week," Kuleba concluded.

Background:

• Earlier, Scholz confirmed that he had invited Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to have coffee outside the hall before the vote to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU on Thursday.
• At the EU summit on 14 December, the EU leaders supported the opening of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
• Although the decision on Kyiv had long been blocked by Hungary, its veto was overridden by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán being persuaded to leave the room during the vote and thus abstain from voting.
• Orbán himself later claimed that he had agreed to give up his veto over the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU because he would have many more opportunities to block the process.

Learn more: Orbán's defeat or victory for Ukraine. Why is EU summit historic?

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