Top Ukrainian Diplomat To Visit Hungary On Friday To Discuss Bilateral Issues

Top Ukrainian Diplomat to Visit Hungary on Friday to Discuss Bilateral Issues

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is expected to pay a working visit to Budapest on Friday to meet with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, to discuss bilateral relations and possible solutions to existing issues, the Foreign Ministry's press service said on Wednesday

KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2020) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is expected to pay a working visit to Budapest on Friday to meet with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, to discuss bilateral relations and possible solutions to existing issues, the Foreign Ministry's press service said on Wednesday.

Szijjarto has previously said that Budapest was interested in restoring good neighborly relations with Kiev, which deteriorated in 2017 over Ukraine's controversial law on education that gave regional status to minority languages, limiting people's opportunity to study in Russian and other foreign languages.

"On Friday, May 29, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba will pay a working visit to Hungary to meet with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto. The meeting with his Hungarian counterpart will be the foreign minister's first non-virtual visit abroad," the statement read.

The top diplomats of the two neighboring countries will discuss the further development of investment and trade cooperation between Kiev and Budapest, the implementation of infrastructure projects and ways to further coordinate efforts to overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry added.

The parties will also pay attention to resolving a number of issues in Ukrainian-Hungarian relations, as well as discuss preparations for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The press service noted that Kuleba will travel to Budapest by car since air traffic is limited due to the pandemic.

Hungary has retaliated against the Ukrainian education law, which it says discriminates against ethnic Hungarians in Zakarpattia, by blocking Kiev's attempts to foster a closer relationship with the European Union and NATO. Budapest vetoed NATO's joint declaration on Ukraine last October because it did not mention the abuse of minority rights.