Long road ahead before Orban-Zelenskiy meeting - Hungary foreign minister

Long road ahead before Orban-Zelenskiy meeting - Hungary foreign minister

There is a long road ahead before a meeting between Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy can happen, the Hungarian foreign minister said at a briefing on Tuesday.

Peter Szijjarto, who was speaking a day after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, said that if Ukraine met Hungary's conditions that would create a "clean slate" in bilateral relations and allow for a top level meeting.

Szijjarto also reiterated a shift in the Hungarian government's stance and said Budapest was open to using the European Union budget for a proposed 50 billion euro ($54 billion) aid package to Ukraine if it was reviewed annually with a need for unanimity from member states.

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Replying to a reporter's question, Szijjarto also said he saw no need to call an extraordinary session of the Hungarian parliament to vote on Sweden's bid to join NATO.

"Parliament's regular session starts in late February, so I think we can wait for the regular session and put this on the agenda then if the majority agrees, of course," he said.

Hungarian opposition parties submitted a motion calling for an extraordinary session of parliament to ratify Sweden's NATO bid next Monday. Parliament speaker Laszlo Kover said last week that opposition attempts at an extra session would likely fail.