Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán plans to hold an important diplomatic meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky next week. This meeting is an attempt to improve relations between Kyiv and Budapest under the pressure of the European Union.
At the EU summit, which took place on June 27-28 in Brussels, the Hungarian Prime Minister decided to send a signal about a change in attitude towards Ukraine. Among other things, Orban's political director announced a new meeting of his boss with Volodymyr Zelensky.
The official reason he announced is the beginning of Hungary's presidency of the EU Council, which will start on July 1. But until now, Hungarian officials rejected the possibility of such a meeting.
"I personally said several times that Orban should go to Ukraine and finally talk to Zelensky. And I hope it will happen," one of the members of the European Council told "European Pravda" in an off-the-record conversation.
According to media reports, Orban was under pressure from partners who convinced him that his public conflict with Ukraine had dragged on and that it should end. In particular, the Prime Minister of Hungary was convinced by the French President Emmanuel Macron and the head of the Italian government, George Maloni.
The latter heads the "European Conservatives and Reformists" group, where Orbán wants to join with his Fidesz party in order to have a greater influence on decision-making in the European Parliament. The Italian prime minister demanded that her Hungarian counterpart prove that his heated conflict with Kyiv has ended.
