Hungary Faces Ukraine Shift as Magyar Plans Zelensky Talks
Conflicting claims about prior meetings with Volodymyr Zelensky cast doubt on Péter Magyar’s narrative as he prepares to reset Hungary’s approach to Ukraine.
Conflicting claims about prior meetings with Volodymyr Zelensky cast doubt on Péter Magyar’s narrative as he prepares to reset Hungary’s approach to Ukraine.
As well as visiting Brussels today, April 29th, where he is expected to begin bowing to the European Union’s many demands, the incoming Hungarian prime minister is making preparations to meet with Ukraine’s leader later this year.
Péter Magyar on Tuesday said that he plans to hold an in-person conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky in “early June.” He also expressed his hope to “open a new chapter in Ukrainian-Hungarian bilateral relations.”
But comments by the Ukrainian president in a recent interview suggest that Magyar was not telling the truth when he claimed he had previously had no real contact with Zelensky. In fact, it appears the pair have actually met in person “more than a year ago, maybe two years ago.” What’s more, Zelensky said it was Magyar who “wanted to meet with me.”
This does little to help soothe fears that Magyar will drastically change Hungary’s approach to Ukraine, including by actively supporting its war against Russia, rather than working to bring it to an end.
Magyar says he hopes to meet with Zelensky in Transcarpathia, which is home to a sizable Hungarian ethnic community, and that he would like “to improve the situation of Hungarians” there and “support their ability to remain in their homeland.”
Following Magyar’s election victory, Zelensky celebrated the opportunity to “develop cooperation with Hungary.”
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
