Negotiations underway about Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Budapest, Ukrainian ambassador says

“Discussions are underway concerning a visit to Budapest in the near future,” replied Sándor Fegyir, Ukraine’s ambassador to Budapest, in response to an inquiry from Magyar Hang. The paper reported on Friday that, according to its sources, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may visit Budapest, and inquired about this with the ambassador. Sándor did not specify when the meeting might take place, saying only that no exact date has been set.

Since the government of Péter Magyar took office, intensive negotiations have been underway with Ukraine, with which relations had reached a low point under the previous administration, led by Viktor Orbán. Fidesz' election campaign, which featured anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, as well as the status of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia both played a role in this.

The new government quickly indicated that it would link Ukraine’s EU accession process to Ukrainian legislation addressing the rights of the Hungarian minority there. Péter Magyar announced on Wednesday that Hungary had reached a comprehensive agreement with Ukraine on the expansion of the Hungarian minority’s linguistic, educational, cultural, and political rights.

According to the Prime Minister, Ukraine’s commitments will also be incorporated into Ukraine’s action plan on accession to the European Union. Once this happens, the Hungarian government will support the opening of the first accession cluster for Ukraine.

Péter Magyar has, in fact, repeatedly stated that as soon as the points of contention are resolved, he would be happy to meet with Zelensky, preferably in a Transcarpathian town with a Hungarian population, such as Berehove. It is unclear whether this meeting would now be moved to Budapest or if the original plan may still be realised.

We sent questions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about President Zelensky’s potential visit to Hungary; if they provide a substantive response, we will report back.