Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that he accepted the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to hold a bilateral meeting in the future.
The Hungarian Prime Minister said this at a press conference in Budapest, the Washington Post reports.
If the meeting takes place, it will be the first bilateral since the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war.
"[Zelensky] said “We need to negotiate,” and I told him that I would be at his disposal. We only need to clarify one question: about what?" Orban answered.
He explained that the dialogue then took place in the context of Ukraineʼs plans to become a member of the European Union.
Relations between Ukraine and Hungary remain complicated. The latter regularly blocks €50 billion in EU aid to Ukraine. Viktor Orban claimed that Ukraine should not receive large sums from the budget of the European Union, since it is not part of the bloc. So, he is trying to force Brussels to make concessions and unlock money for Hungary despite concerns about the rule of law in the country. For example, on the eve of the EU summit, the European Commission unfroze €10 billion for Hungary. Orbán refuses to recognize the interdependence between money for his country and a position to support Ukraine. Earlier, the Hungarian Prime Minister said that he would block the start of negotiations with Ukraine on its accession to the European Union. However, EU leaders still agreed to negotiations with Kyiv.
- Viktor Obran is in favor of lifting sanctions against Russia and ending hostilities in Ukraine and the flow of refugees. He met personally with Putin in Beijing in October and before that on February 1, 2022, in Moscow. Budapest says it wants to keep communication channels with the Russian Federation "open".