Hungary warns Ukraine EU bid 'brings war risk'
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka met with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Thursday to discuss national minority rights, a long-standing issue Hungary has used to obstruct Kyiv's European integration.
Mr Kachka said the bilateral consultations revealed a lack of fundamental disagreement, and solutions had been found for all 11 points put forward by Hungary.
The Ukrainian official also underlined Kyiv's commitment to a wider dialogue on national minority policy, according to The New Voice of Ukraine.
"There are pragmatic solutions that can ensure the position of all EU member states is respected," he said. "It was a genuinely substantive and pragmatic discussion, focused on future cooperation. We have prepared the agenda for our highest-level dialogue."
Budapest has previously accused Kyiv of discriminating against the ethnic Hungarian minority in southwestern Ukraine, a charge the Ukrainian government has always denied.
In a post on X, Mr Szijjártó said the Hungarian people had made a clear decision: Ukraine's EU accession goes against Hungary's economic and security interests. "A strategic partnership between the EU and Ukraine is more realistic. Accession would bring unacceptable risks, especially the danger of drawing the EU into a war," he added.
On 8 September, Mr Szijjártó announced he would meet Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's Foreign Minister. However, it was later clarified in Hungary that he would meet Mr Kachka instead.
On 5 September, Mr Sybiha had proposed a personal meeting to discuss important issues, urging his Hungarian counterpart to avoid disputes on social media about Ukraine's EU accession.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to discuss why he is blocking the country's EU accession. The leader in Kyiv added that the decision on Ukraine's EU accession was being blocked by only one country - Hungary.
Bloomberg previously reported the EU was discussing ways to prevent Budapest from blocking the start of Ukraine's accession talks.
On 31 August, Mr Szijjártó said Hungary would not withdraw its veto on opening EU accession negotiations for Ukraine. This comes after Politico had reported, citing sources, that President Donald Trump had convinced Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to change his position on the matter.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
