Ukraine and Hungary to hold new round of talks on national minority issues
Ukraine and Hungary have agreed to resume expert-level consultations on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Zakarpattya Oblast, with both sides appointing delegations and initial talks potentially starting online as soon as Monday, May 19, the two countries' foreign ministers Andrii Sybiha and Anita Orban said.
"We are prepared to work with the new Hungarian government on all issues of our bilateral agenda, including the national minority topic, with the aim of restoring trust and good-neighborly relations between our countries," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. "Our goal is to ensure European standards and practices."
Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban said the first consultations would be held online and expressed confidence that the process would move quickly.
"I trust that the dialogue will be constructive and productive, and that the negotiations will soon bring tangible progress for the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia," she said.
Sybiha said the two ministers also discussed the broader regional, European and international agenda.
"I touched upon the issue of Ukraine’s EU accession path and reiterated our readiness for the sooner opening of negotiation clusters," he added.
Hungary's previous government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had for years blocked Ukraine's EU accession talks, presenting Kyiv with a list of 11 demands tied to the protection of national minority rights in Ukraine.
The two sides had agreed to hold regular consultations to work through those demands, but Budapest suspended the talks after Ukraine's Security Service detained alleged Hungarian intelligence operatives in early May.
The previous Hungarian government also held what it called a consultative referendum, after which it announced that 95% of respondents opposed Ukraine's EU membership.
Orbán had claimed that Ukrainian membership would cause the "destruction of the European Union" and bring war with Russia to EU territory.