The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, announced a planned meeting with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andriy Sybiha, which will take place this week in Budapest. The main topic of the negotiations will be the development of Hungarian-Ukrainian relations, as well as the rights of national minorities in Transcarpathia.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Hungary Sets Conditions for Improving Relations
Péter Szijjártó emphasized that Budapest is open to dialogue with Ukraine; however, real progress in bilateral relations is only possible with the full restoration of the rights of the Hungarian national minority, which, according to the Hungarian side, have been previously restricted. He noted that the initiative for the next step currently lies with Ukraine.
“We will meet with Andriy Sybiha in Budapest this week to discuss Hungarian-Ukrainian relations. We believe in dialogue and are always ready for negotiations. But the ball is in Ukraine’s court: real progress is only possible with the complete restoration of the rights taken from Hungarians in Transcarpathia.”
Budapest’s Position on Ukraine’s European Integration
Official Kyiv has not yet commented on the upcoming meeting. Meanwhile, Hungary, represented by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, has repeatedly demonstrated loyalty to the Kremlin and has taken a separate stance regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Hungary has made statements that contradict the overall line of the European Union regarding support for Ukraine. In particular, Budapest is blocking Ukraine’s progress towards EU membership by halting the opening of the first negotiation cluster, “Foundations.”
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly expressed grievances towards Ukraine regarding the protection of minority rights and recently explained his position by stating that the country is in a state of war. On September 5, Péter Szijjártó confirmed that Hungary is not changing its position regarding Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, even after statements from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about a change in Russia’s attitude towards Ukraine’s EU membership.