BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥� Hungary and Ukraine will begin consultations on the rights of , the countries’ foreign ministers said Monday, an early sign that strained relations between Budapest and Kyiv could improve under Hungary’s new government.
Bilateral ties between the neighboring countries under the pro-Russian government of former Hungarian Prime Minister , which refused to provide Ukraine with money or weapons to assist in its defense against Russia’s .
Orb谩n, who was voted out of office in a in April, justified many of his government’s anti-Ukraine policies with what he said was the restriction of language and education rights for the roughly 100,000 ethnic Hungarians that live in the Ukrainian region of Zakarpattia.
Aimed at combating Russian influence but , Ukraine passed a law in 2017 that made Ukrainian the required language of study past the fifth grade, angering Romanian, Bulgarian and Hungarian minorities.
But in a post on X Monday, Hungary’s new Foreign Minister Anita Orb谩n wrote that 鈥渆xpert-level consultations aimed at resolving the rights of the Hungarian minority鈥� will begin as soon as this week.
The talks will form 鈥渁n important foundation for the prompt and reassuring settlement of minority rights issues,鈥� wrote Anita Orb谩n, who is not related to the former prime minister.
鈥淚 trust that the dialogue will be constructive and productive, and that the negotiations will soon bring tangible progress for the Hungarian community,鈥� she continued.
The step was an early sign of a possible mending of the bilateral relations that had dropped to historic lows under Orb谩n. His nationalist-populist government had , held up sanctions against Moscow and threatened to toward eventually joining the bloc.
Following a Cabinet meeting later on Monday, Hungarian said his government was 鈥渁sking for nothing more than what every minority in Europe deserves,鈥� and that the forthcoming talks would be a 鈥減rerequisite鈥� for Hungary agreeing to open the first phase of Ukraine’s accession process during an EU meeting next month.
In the lead-up to the April election, Orb谩n鈥檚 government ran an aggressive , casting the neighboring country as an existential threat to Hungary that threatened to tank its economy and drag it into the war.
But with the election of the center-right Tisza party and its leader Magyar, hopes emerged that Hungary’s new government would pursue a more constructive approach.
In a stark example of the about-face in relations with Moscow ushered in by Magyar’s election, Hungary’s new foreign minister last week over a massive drone strike in Zakarpattia 鈥� a move nearly unthinkable during Orb谩n’s 16-year tenure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the summons in Budapest an 鈥渋mportant message鈥� and thanked the new government for its response.
On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that his government is 鈥渞eady to open a new, mutually beneficial chapter in Ukrainian-Hungarian relations without delay,鈥� with the aim of 鈥渞estoring trust and good-neighborly relations between our countries.鈥�
Sybiha wrote that during a phone call with Anita Orb谩n, he had thanked her for 鈥渢he Hungarian government鈥檚 principled and swift reaction to the latest Russian strikes against Ukraine.鈥�
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