Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó will hold talks later today in western Ukraine with his counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, as a European summit focused on economic aid to the war-torn country approaches, following a recent veto by Budapest.

Purpose: the preparation of the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in order to “find solutions” to their differences and pave the way for “critical EU decisions on Ukraine” to be taken, according to Kiev.

An indication of how strained the relations between the two neighbors are is the fact that Mr Szijardo has never set foot in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion almost two years ago, while on the contrary repeatedly visited Moscow.

The appointment was made in Uzgorod, where a large Magyar community resides. Security measures have been stepped up after the Hungarian minister received a letter containing threats against his life.

The general secretary of the Ukrainian presidency, Andriy, will also be present Germak.

Mr. Orban he is the only European leader who has maintained close relations with the Kremlin while at the same time having complicated relations with Ukraine.

Last month, he blocked an agreement in the European Council to give a total of €50 billion in aid to Ukraine over four years. Now, he says he is ready to agree to the offer of support to Kiev, but “beyond the common budget” of the EU and on the condition that there will be the possibility of reviewing it on an annual basis.

An emergency summit will be held in Brussels on Thursday to find a compromise.

THE nationalist populist prime minister moreover, he refused to sign the opening of accession negotiations with Kiev: he simply walked out of the room when the vote on it took place, in mid-December.

He has not stopped repeating that the Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia, suggesting that a ceasefire be negotiated between Kiev and Moscow.

Tensions between the two capitals are not exactly news; diplomatic tension had already been rising before the invasion, as Ukraine adopted a series of controversial measures since 2017, especially regarding the teaching of the Ukrainian language.

In a sign of de-escalation, Kiev recently adopted a law to protect minority rights in Ukraine — a step Budapest has deemed insufficient.

Over 100,000 Magyars live in the Transcarpathian region at the western end of Ukraine. The area was under Hungarian control until World War I.