Ukraine and Hungary Hold First-Ever Foreign Minister Bilateral — Minority Rights and EU Path Discussed

On May 22, on the sidelines of the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Helsingborg, Ukrainian FM Andrii Sybiha and Hungarian FM Anita Orbán held the first-ever in-person bilateral meeting between a Ukrainian and Hungarian foreign minister since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. The talks followed the online expert-level consultations launched on May 20. Agenda items included the status and rights of Hungary's approximately 150,000-strong ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine's Zakarpattia/Transcarpathia region, Ukraine's EU accession trajectory, and a timetable for a second round of bilateral expert consultations. Both ministers described the meeting as 'productive and forward-looking.' The encounter represented one of the most significant diplomatic normalizations of the Magyar era: under Szijjártó, Hungary had blocked Ukraine's NATO accession talks partly over minority rights disputes, used as political leverage within the alliance. FM Orbán signaled that Hungary would no longer deploy minority rights as a veto tool, instead pursuing resolution through dialogue.