During a session of the Hungarian parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Ukraine would not receive Hungary’s support for its accelerated accession to the European Union. According to Orbán, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants a Ukrainian-friendly government in Hungary, but those expectations will not be met, reports the Baltimore Chronicle, citing a post by Zoltan Kovacs on Twitter.
Orbán noted that Ukraine had reached an agreement with Brussels to speed up its EU membership process and now expects approval from Hungary. However, he emphasized that this will not happen. He stressed that Hungary will not allow Kyiv or Brussels to dictate how the country exercises its sovereign rights.
In addition, Orbán reiterated his belief that Ukraine’s accession to the EU would result in economic hardship for Hungary. He also urged citizens to voice their opinions on the issue during the upcoming “national consultations” vote.
The Hungarian prime minister further claimed that politicians who support Ukraine’s European ambitions are essentially “agents of Brussels” and allies of Zelenskyy. At the end of his address, Orbán reaffirmed that Ukraine’s expectations will not be fulfilled.
These statements followed a recent exchange of critical remarks between Orbán and Zelenskyy concerning Ukraine’s EU membership bid and the political relationship between the two countries.
Earlier we wrote that Ukraine’s EU membership will undermine the Hungarian economy.