Ukrainian President Zelensky is hoping to join the EU soon – but Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban has threatened to block membership talks. Now the two spoke to each other on the sidelines of a visit to South America.
On the sidelines of his visit to Argentina, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Among other things, it was about Ukraine’s desire to join the EU. Orban had made it clear to Zelensky that the EU members were “continually negotiating with each other” regarding Ukraine’s accession, said his spokesman Bertalan Havasi.
Zelensky, in turn, said in his nightly video address that he had spoken to Orban as “openly as possible” about Ukraine’s European affairs. There was talk of an “emotional conversation” in the Ukrainian media. A camera filmed the conversation between the two – the gestures suggest an apparently controversial exchange.
Ukraine warns of failure of the EU summit
The EU summit on December 14th and 15th will decide whether accession talks will begin with Ukraine.
Kiev, meanwhile, warned the European Union that its meeting on Thursday and Friday would fail. It would have devastating consequences if Hungary prevailed with its blockade stance, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba before consultations with his EU colleagues in Brussels.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also expressed concern: “I hope that Europe’s unity does not collapse,” said the Spaniard. “This is not the time to weaken our support for Ukraine.” Rather, the EU must increase this, he said, with a view to Ukraine’s difficult military situation.
Orban wants start of EUAdmission interviews To block
Orban had recently threatened to block the early start of admission talks. Among other things, he criticizes the fact that Ukraine is not yet meeting all the reform requirements. However, some diplomats believe it is conceivable that Orban’s threats are simply intended to increase pressure in order to obtain frozen EU funding.
Zelenskyy traveled to Argentina to attend the inauguration of new President Javier Milei. The Ukrainian president also met with several South American counterparts to explore the possibility of a Ukraine-Latin America summit. Zelenskyj is campaigning for support from the so-called Global South. Many of the countries have so far found it difficult to support the hard line taken by Western industrial nations towards Russia.
Meeting with Biden on Tuesday
Zelensky is expected in Washington on Tuesday by US President Joe Biden. Biden invited the Ukrainian “to underscore the United States’ unwavering commitment to supporting the Ukrainian people in their defense against the brutal Russian invasion,” the White House said.
Selenskyj’s office said he was traveling to the USA today. In addition to the meeting with Biden, there will also be a number of other discussions. According to US media reports, Zelensky will also meet with US senators and the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson.
Andrea Beer, ARD Kiev, tagesschau, December 11, 2023 8:17 a.m