During a historic meeting on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had agreed to prepare a bilateral agreement aimed at overcoming disagreements between their countries.
“Everything we discussed today serves as a basis for a future bilateral document between our states which will regulate all segments of our relations and will be mutually beneficial for both countries,” Zelensky told a press conference after talks with Orbán. He added that this agreement would make it possible for Ukraine to benefit from “all the positives of European unity”. Zelensky said he had proposed opening a Ukrainian school in Hungary for the Ukrainian children there, adding that Orbán had assured him of his support for the initiative. He welcomed that the Hungarian prime minister’s first foreign trip after Hungary assumed the European Union’s presidency was to Ukraine. “This demonstrates our joint European priority,” he said. “It is important for there to be peace so that we can put the strengthening of Europe on new foundations,” he said.
Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Hungary for its humanitarian support for Ukraine, underlining that he believed that saving lives was the most important consideration. “Hungary is prepared to cooperate effectively in the interest of achieving long-term security in our region and Europe,” he said. Zelensky said he and Orbán had discussed in detail the ways Hungary could participate in the organisation of a second global peace summit, which Kyiv hopes could take place as early as later this year. “We will be grateful to Hungary if it supports us in this,” he said. “It is important for Hungary’s EU presidency to be effective. Though our political views don’t always align, we both serve the strengthening of Europe, social progress and the economic prosperity of European businesses.” Zelensky said Ukraine’s accession to the EU would be a long process, underlining the importance of Europe’s continued support for Ukraine and his country’s beneficial cooperation with all of its neighbours.