Hungary fears losses from negotiations on Ukraine's accession to EU
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó (photo: Getty Images)
Hungary may block negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union, which could cause "losses" to Budapest, stated the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, according to Mandiner.
"If, in preparation for real negotiations, Brussels wants to squeeze something into the negotiation framework that would cause us losses, then we will have to resort to the instrument of a hard veto," Szijjártó said.
According to him, Hungary considers the EU's decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession "fundamental".
The Hungarian foreign minister also emphasized that Hungary made the best decision by deciding not to participate in the vote on the start of negotiations on Ukraine's membership. Thus, Budapest will not bear "responsibility" for this and exempts itself from the consequences.
Hungary's position on Ukraine's accession to the EU
Earlier it was reported that Hungary intends to block all negotiations related to Ukraine's accession to the EU. In this context, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while in Argentina, was able to talk to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the eve of the EU leaders' summit. According to the Ukrainian leader, the conversation was frank and concerned the European affairs of the two countries.
In addition, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó for the first time since the full-scale invasion. After the meeting, the Ukrainian minister said that our country had received an unofficial and non-public positive signal from Budapest about the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
For more details on what awaits Ukraine after the European Council's decision, please read RBC-Ukraine's article.
