Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday (July 2) and met with Ukrainian President Zelensky. This visit is seen as a symbol of the two countries’ efforts to improve relations under the mediation of the European Union.
This is Orbán’s first visit to Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1 for six months, and this visit took place on the second day of Hungary’s assumption of the presidency.
According to the UK’s Financial Times, Orbán is scheduled to meet with Zelensky and other senior officials in Kyiv. The two leaders had discussions during the EU summit in Brussels last week.
A source from Hungary mentioned that the leaders of the two countries reached this visit plan after lengthy negotiations on the rights of the Hungarian-speaking minority in Ukraine.
The source stated that resolving the nationality issues of the minority groups was a prerequisite for the meeting. In recent weeks, agreements have been reached by both sides, making this visit a success.
As reported by The Guardian, Hungary will hold the EU rotating presidency until the end of this year, causing unease among many European politicians as the country often conflicts with Brussels on domestic rule of law and foreign policy issues.
Orbán has openly criticized Western military aid to Ukraine. At the beginning of 2024, EU leaders took weeks to override Orbán’s veto and provide Ukraine with €500 billion (approximately $540 billion) in aid.
Last week, EU governments bypassed Hungary’s veto and agreed to provide Ukraine with weapons and other assistance using €1.4 billion (about $1.5 billion) in profits from frozen Russian assets, leading Hungary to accuse the EU of violating its own rules.
After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022, Ukraine immediately applied for EU membership. In November last year, the European Commission proposed to start accession negotiations with Ukraine. Orbán has been against Ukraine’s accession negotiations, but Hungary ultimately abstained at the EU summit in December, allowing the negotiations to proceed.
On Tuesday (June 25), EU ministers met Ukrainian officials in Luxembourg to officially launch accession negotiations with Ukraine. To make progress in negotiations during Hungary’s six-month term as the EU rotating presidency, Ukraine is eager to improve relations with Hungary.
Orbán’s press secretary, Bertalan Havas, told the Hungarian news agency MTI on Tuesday that Orbán and Zelensky will discuss bilateral relations and “the most important discussion topic is the possibility of building peace.”
The responsibilities of the EU rotating presidency include setting agendas, chairing meetings in all areas except foreign or eurozone affairs, seeking consensus among EU member states, and reaching agreements with the European Parliament on legislation. Specifically, the EU rotating presidency is primarily responsible for organizing the agenda of the Council of the European Union’s discussions among the 27 EU countries, coordinating conclusions, and advising with the President of the European Council on the agenda of the leaders’ summit held approximately every two months.