Yesterday at 20:05
The upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán may include discussion of lifting Hungary’s veto on the start of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations, UATV English reports.
Speaking to journalists in response to a question from Ukrinform, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka stressed the importance of ensuring that Washington understands Kyiv’s position.
Kachka said Ukraine has made significant efforts to explain why Hungary’s approval is essential.
“It is important for us that the United States and President Trump’s administration understand why we need Hungary’s consent to open negotiations. We paid a lot of attention to this, and President Zelenskyy also raised the issue. Will it be discussed during the Trump–Orbán meeting? There is an expectation that it will,” he stated.
At the same time, Kachka noted that this is a bilateral meeting between the American and Hungarian leaders, not a trilateral format involving Ukraine, so “we will see.”
“I understand that everything ultimately depends on direct dialogue with Hungary. This meeting can help, and the position of EU leaders who are ideologically close to Orbán can also help. Our task is to work on all fronts. Believe me, we raised this even with the Japanese government,” Kachka added.
According to Budapest, President Trump will host Prime Minister Orbán at the White House on November 7.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously stated that he had asked President Trump to influence Orbán so that Hungary would stop blocking Ukraine’s EU accession process.
