Radoslaw Sikorski, Polish Foreign Minister Photo: Ukrinform / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
The Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radoslaw Sikorski, accused Hungary of blackmail against the European Union by blocking Ukraine's candidacy for accession to Community Boc, AFP reports.
Ukraine has applied for the European Union a few days after the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, but could not advance in negotiations due to the repeated veto to which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close relative of the Kremlin, resorted.
“You can blackmail the entire European Union with your bilateral problems, but there are limits. In our opinion, Hungary has gone beyond what is reasonable,” said Sikorski, in the framework of the Kiev Yalta Strategy Conference.
The relationships between Hungary and Ukraine have deteriorated even more in recent months, the two countries accusing each other of espionage, accusations that have led to the expulsion of diplomats.
Kiev needs the unanimous approval of all EU Member States for dozens of different stages in the direction of advancing the candidacy.
The Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European integration, Taras Kacika, gave assurances that Kiev would maintain the dialogue with Budapest.
This week, Kacika visited Hungary to meet the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto. On this occasion, Szijjarto reiterated the opposition of Budapest to the accession of Ukraine in the EU and said that the future of Hungarian-Ukrainian relations depends only on Kiev.
But Kacika still hopes for the flexibility of the position of Hungary. “We hope that we will be able to convince them (…) not to change, but to adapt its approach,” said the Ukrainian official.
