Orbán-Zelensky talks: Hungary backs Ukraine’s EU aspirations

Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to Viktor Orbán by phone on Tuesday, and their discussion focused on Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union and Hungary’s welcoming of war refugees.

The Hungarian prime minister underscored Hungary’s support for Ukraine’s EU candidate status and the removal of bureaucratic obstacles to Ukraine’s EU accession.

Orbán pledged to represent Hungary’s stance at this week’s EU summit in Brussels.

Orban noted that the country has now welcomed almost 800,000 Ukrainian refugees, and it is prepared to cooperate in further energy projects as well as the rail transport of Ukrainian grain. Hungary will also host an even higher number of Ukrainian students, he told his counterpart.

On behalf of the Ukrainian people, Zelensky thanked the Hungarian people for their help.

As we wrote yesterday, PM Orbán attended a video conference in preparation for a two-day European Union summit on Thursday and Friday, and has called for member state candidate status to be granted to several European states, details HERE.

Read alsoThis is the Hungarians’ opinion about Biden, Zelensky and Putin

Prime Minister’s Office: Supporting Ukraine’s EU candidacy in Hungary’s national interest

Supporting Ukraine in its endeavours to receive European Union candidate status is “in Hungary’s interest as regards its policy for Hungarian communities abroad,” János Árpád Potápi, state secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, said on Tuesday.

It is in Hungary’s interest that Ukraine should be a “sovereign, balanced and democratic state governed by the rule of law in which ethnic minorities — Transcarpathian Hungarians included — live in peace and security in their homeland”, Potápi said on Facebook.

The Hungarian government will support Ukraine in a vote on the matter during an EU summit set for June 23-24, the state secretary said.

Also, efforts are being made to support Hungarians in Transcarpathia (Kárpátalja), with the announcement of a social programme for Transcarpathia aimed at preventing Hungarians living there from leaving their homeland and prospering locally despite the exceptionally difficult situation.