Ukrainian FM Kuleba to meet Hungarian counterpart for first time since Russia's invasion

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba will meet with his Hungarian colleague Peter Szijjarto for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war, he told journalists in Brussels.

The meeting will take place today, December 11, at the gathering of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union.

"This will be our first face-to-face meeting since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. And I think this fact speaks for itself: we continue to talk with Hungary. As I already mentioned, Ukraine changed its legislation on education and the use of national minority languages in the way that Hungary wanted. And this fact must be respected," Kuleba said.

In November, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said that Ukraine will not make exceptions for Hungary in the issue of national minorities.

"The fact that Hungarians shout the loudest does not mean that the Hungarian minority in Ukraine has any special problems," she said at the time.

On November 7, an adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that Hungary will block the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, as it demands the repeal of the Ukrainian language law.

On November 8, the European Commission recommended starting negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.

The issue of the start of negotiations between the European Union and Ukraine regarding accession must be decided at the EU summit. This decision needs the unanimous approval of all 27 member states.