On July 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, the Financial Times reports, citing sources. This is the Hungarian prime minister's first visit to Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities in February 2022, UNN reports .
Details
Viktor Orban will also meet with other high-ranking officials in Kyiv, an FT source said. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the presidential office, refused to comment on the information about the prime minister's visit. At the same time, another source of the publication confirmed it.
"Orban will be here tomorrow if there are no last-minute changes," he said.
The FT notes that Viktor Orban's visit will take place the day after Hungary takes over the EU Council presidency. Since 2022, all EU leaders have visited Ukraine. According to the newspaper's sources, the visit was agreed upon after talks at the Brussels summit on Hungarians living in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia region. Hungarian authorities claim that 150,000 Hungarians live in Ukraine.
Viktor Orban and other high-ranking Hungarian officials have repeatedly stated claims about the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians in Ukraine. The publication notes that Viktor Orban may use this issue to promote the Russian view of the Ukrainian conflict.
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Before the EU summit (June 27-28), Viktor Orban toured Berlin, Paris, and Rome. The visits were made to show European leaders his vision of the global agenda in the first half of 2024 as the EU Council Presidency. On July 1, the presidency passed from Belgium to Hungary.