To date, six ethnic Hungarians have summited Mount Everest. The most recent attempt was made by Szilárd Suhajda, who got close to reaching the top alone without oxygen tanks. Tragically, he succumbed to the effects of the death zone, and lost his life when only 50 metres (164 feet) from the peak.

PM Orbán must have ‘run into’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the meeting, as some Hungarian media put it. However, conspicuously, Viktor Orbán did not post any photos of him and the Ukrainian leader to social media, as opposed to prominently featured pictures with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in a Facebook post. In fact, no formal meeting has been held between the two leaders since Zelenskyy entered office. Although Orbán has been invited to Kyiv, the Hungarian government has made it quite clear that the Hungarian PM will not be travelling to Ukraine unless the rights of the Hungarian minority in the country are restored.

Austria’s Chancellor was the first Western leader to meet with Putin after the invasion. Now, despite strong criticism, Russian representatives were granted visas to Austria to attend the OSCE summit in Vienna in February.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal recently stated that the country would like to join the EU in a two-year timetable. However, most member states think that this timeline for Kyiv’s bid is unrealistic.

‘When I look at the European economy, strangled by over-regulation, over-taxation, ridiculous green agendas and the intrusive behaviour of the EU bureaucracy, it is clear that Europe cannot grow. It is doomed to stagnation,’ former Czech President Vaclav Klaus stated at the summit.

The Czech Prime Minister said at the joint press conference that he was convinced the V4 cooperation had a future. He underscored that the meeting in Kosice was important, as ‘an open dialogue can be held even on issues on which there are different views.’