Lithuanian President accuses Hungary of undermining EU unity

"Hungary is causing harm to the principle of unity because if we do not receive a positive response regarding Ukraine, there will be more and more voices threatening and challenging the principle of unity," he said.

He emphasized that he believes Ukraine's closer ties with the EU are beneficial to Hungary. Nauseda also expressed hope that the opportunity to invite Ukraine and Moldova to start official negotiations on EU membership will not be wasted.

"We will use all means to convince Hungary to change its mind," Nauseda said.

Statements from the leaders of Estonia and Latvia

Estonian President Alar Karis emphasized the importance of sending a signal to Russia that Europe is united, and Ukraine belongs to Europe.

Meanwhile, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics assured that finding a compromise regarding Ukraine may "take longer than expected."

He also expressed hope that all necessary decisions would be made at the EU summit in Brussels and at the NATO summit in Washington next year.

Ukraine's accession to the EU

In early November, the European Commission recommended initiating negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union. However, Hungary's Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, stated that his country opposes this step.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on EU leaders not to discuss the issue of Ukraine's accession at the future summit. He also declared readiness to block decisions on the start of negotiations on Ukraine's Eurointegration at the EU summit scheduled for December 14-15.

Yesterday, on December 10, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone call with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, ahead of the EU summit.

For more details on why Hungary is blocking the start of Ukraine's accession negotiations with the EU, refer to RBC-Ukraine's material.