Ukraine–Hungary Expert Consultations on National Minorities and Bilateral Ties Begin

On May 20, Ukraine and Hungary launched the first round of expert-level consultations on the status of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine, bilateral economic relations, and a pathway toward normalizing ties that had been severely damaged under Orbán's Russia-aligned foreign policy. The online consultations prepared the ground for a first-ever in-person meeting between Ukrainian FM Andrii Sybiha and Hungary's new FM Anita Orbán scheduled for the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Helsingborg (May 21-22). Hungary's approximately 150,000-strong Hungarian community in the Zakarpattia/Transcarpathia region of Ukraine had been a persistent friction point under Orbán — with Kyiv accusing Budapest of using minority rights as a pretext to obstruct Ukraine's NATO accession talks. The consultations, which both sides described as 'constructive,' represented a significant diplomatic pivot from the Szijjártó era of calculated antagonism with Kyiv.