Hungary’s Peter Magyar has reaffirmed his intention to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in early June in Berehove, Zakarpattia. According to Ukrainska Pravda, Magyar spoke on the sidelines of a visit to Poland during a joint press conference with Donald Tusk.
Magyar stated a condition for Budapest’s consent to open the first negotiation chapter in EU accession talks with Kyiv. He also expressed hope that ongoing talks with Ukraine on the rights of the Hungarian minority would conclude successfully. “I very much hope and believe that this round of negotiations will proceed quickly and successfully, and as I have already mentioned and proposed, we could meet with President Zelenskyy in early June in the city of Berehove – a city in Zakarpattia where the Hungarian community lives and where ethnic Hungarians form the majority,” Magyar said.
Background of the planned meeting
On April 28, Magyar had already initiated a meeting with Zelenskyy in Berehove. Dmytro Lytvyn, an advisor to the Ukrainian president, said at the time that Zelenskyy had not yet finalized his schedule for June. On May 1, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that no agreement on a meeting between the two leaders had been reached yet.
The city of Berehove is located in Ukraine’s western Zakarpattia region, near the border with Hungary. A significant Hungarian minority lives there. The issue of their rights has been a point of contention between Kyiv and Budapest for years. Hungary has repeatedly blocked EU decisions on Ukraine, citing the situation of the Hungarian minority.
Source: www.pravda.com.ua
