Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó met with Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka in Budapest, stressing that while Hungary seeks good relations with all its neighbours, ties with Kyiv remain strained.
Szijjártó stated that responsibility for the deteriorated relationship lies ‘entirely with Kyiv’, accusing Ukraine of systematically curtailing the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia since 2015. He reiterated Budapest’s demand that Ukraine restore all minority language rights that were in place before that year, noting that Hungary has outlined 11 points that together amount to a single demand.
The minister pointed to steps Hungary has taken to foster trust, including opening a bilingual Hungarian–Ukrainian school in Budapest, hosting 12,500 Ukrainian children in summer camps, and introducing new train connections linking Transcarpathia with Budapest and Vienna.
Szijjártó criticized Kyiv for drone strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline, warning that such attacks threaten Hungary’s energy security. He also pointed out that Hungary continues to supply 40 per cent of Ukraine’s electricity imports and half of its gas.
The Hungarian FM also stressed that Ukraine’s EU membership would run counter to Hungarian interests. ‘The Hungarian people have made a clear decision: Ukraine’s EU membership goes against Hungary’s economic and security interests,’ he declared, suggesting that a strategic partnership with the EU would be a more realistic alternative.
Concluding, Szijjártó said Hungary remains open to constructive ties, but insisted that ‘the future of Hungarian–Ukrainian relations depends solely on Kyiv.’
Relations between Hungary and Ukraine have been at a historic low in recent months. Szijjártó himself engaged in a heated war of words on X, clashing with Ukrainian officials over drone strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline, a key piece of infrastructure transporting Russian oil to Hungary. On 23 August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy openly threatened Budapest, stating that the continuation of strikes depended entirely on Hungary’s position on Ukraine’s EU membership. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán remains the only EU leader blocking the process.
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