FM Kuleba hopes for "constructive developments" in relations after talks with Hungarian FM Szijjarto
Vlada Dubyk
News editor at LIGA.net
Ukraine hopes for more "constructive developments" in bilateral relations between the states, as there is already a positive trend, said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, in Brussels.
Recently Ukraine and Hungary have come close to strengthening relations between the states, said Kuleba.
"We both agreed that a number of steps have been made in the recent weeks to overcome issues in our bilateral relations," the Ukrainian diplomat said, adding that his meeting with Szijjarto was "lengthy".
This is a positive trend that needs to be developed through "constructive developments" in the future, Kuleba stated.
Szijjarto said that both countries are working to "talk again about mutual trust" in the relations between Hungary and Ukraine.
Both sides are making progress on the issue related to the border, because there are "unfair situations" in this area, which must be dealt with, the Hungarian diplomat said.
Szijjarto emphasized that it is important for Hungary to cooperate with Ukraine in the field of education.
"We look forward to tomorrow's meeting of the Hungarian-Ukrainian education working group, because the most important task now is to restore the rights of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia to education and the use of native language," he said.
The Hungarian government can also promote the development of infrastructure at the border, which will improve Ukrainian trade with European countries, Szijjarto added.
"Following the infrastructure development carried out with government support on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border, Fényeslitké has the opportunity to transship 1 million containers and 3 million tonnes of wheat and cooking oil annually, which could greatly help in maintaining Ukraine's European-oriented trade," concluded the Hungarian official.
On January 29, Szijjarto said that the process of restoring trust between Ukraine and Hungary would take "a long time."
On January 30, Kuleba said that at the meeting with Szijjarto, the Ukrainian side managed to "get the maximum".
Subsequently, Hungary's top diplomat stated that the meeting between Orban and Zelenskyy is still a long way off, because before that a number of conditions must be met.
On January 31, Kuleba stated that he would not call Orbán and Szijjarto "pro-Russian", because they are rather "pro-Hungarian".