Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he held "constructive talks" with his Hungarian counterpart as Kyiv looks to ease tensions ahead of a crucial European Union summit next week where it hopes Budapest will withdraw its veto on a massive aid package.
Kuleba and Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, met with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on January 29 in the Ukrainian border city of Uzhhorod -- which has a large ethnic-Hungarian population -- saying the talks were marked with "frankness, sincerity, and constructiveness."
Kuleba said the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry would work on ensuring the rights of ethnic Hungarians inside Ukraine -- a key concern of Budapest's -- and bring "final clarity" to the issue within the next 10 days.
"We agreed on one simple thing. We asked the Hungarian side to provide us with an exhaustive list of questions that it has on the issue of protecting the rights of minority representatives. We have received this list," Kuleba said.
He added that "a significant part of the meeting in Uzhhorod was devoted to the issue of national minorities."
Szijjarto said following the meetings that Hungary is asking Ukraine "to return the rights to its national minority that it enjoyed until 2015."
"We came here to restore good neighborly relations. We have a long way to go, but we are ready to do this work on the Hungarian side. In Zakarpattia [where Uzhhorod is located], Hungarians and Ukrainians live in peace," Szijjarti said.
Yermak, meanwhile, said both sides are interested in holding a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as soon as possible, although he did not discuss specifics.
Orban has remained on friendly terms with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago and has opposed a massive EU aid package desired by the Ukrainian leader.
Already tense relations between the two neighbors were further strained when Orban vetoed the aid package for Kyiv in December.
The visit was Szijjarto's first to Ukraine since Russia launched its war against Kyiv. He has been to Moscow several times since February 2022.
Kyiv hopes to unlock an EU aid package worth 50 billion euros ($54.2 billion) at a summit of the bloc scheduled in Brussels for February 1.
However, ahead of the start of the talks in Uzhhorod, Orban's political director Balazs Orban (no relation) signaled a potential change in Hungary's position, saying Budapest now agreed the aid could come from the EU budget after Orban had suggested the EU money should come from a different source.
"Budapest sent a new proposal to Brussels on Saturday, specifying it was now open to using the EU budget for the Ukraine package and even issuing common debt to finance it, if other caveats were added that gave Budapest the opportunity to change its mind at a later date," Balazs Orban said on X.
His statement came after the Financial Times reported on January 29 that Brussels would "sabotage" Hungary's economy if Budapest blocks the aid at a summit this week.
"Now it's crystal clear: This is blackmail and has nothing to do with the rule of law. And now they're not even trying to hide it!" Balazs Orban wrote in reaction to the Financial Times report.
The European Union has rejected the newspaper report, saying member states are not discussing financial coercion to force Hungary to agree to financing for Ukraine.
"The document referred to in the Financial Times article is a background note written by the Secretariat of the council under its own responsibility which describes the current status of the Hungarian economy," said a statement by an unnamed senior EU official seen by RFE/RL.
"This is a factual paper which does not reflect the status of the ongoing negotiations. The note does not outline any specific plan relating to the (long-term EU budget) and Ukraine Facility, nor does it outline any plan relating to Hungary," the statement said.
Last week, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna told RFE/RL that Szijjarto's meeting with Kuleba and Yermak would also be "related to the preparation of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's visit to Ukraine."
The Hungarian side has not confirmed that Orban would visit Ukraine.