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Orban tells Michel Hungary won’t support EU accession talks with Ukraine

"Our position is clear: We do not support Ukraine's hasty accession to the EU," Orban said

BUDAPEST, December 13. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has told European Council President Charles Michel that he will not support the opening of EU accession talks with Ukraine.

Orban made the statement at a meeting with Michel in Brussels ahead of a two-day EU summit starting on December 14, the Hungarian prime minister said on Facebook (banned in Russia as it’s owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated as an extremist organization in Russia).

"Our position is clear: We do not support Ukraine's hasty accession to the EU," Orban said.

In a video posted to Facebook, Orban said the EU meeting will be focused on the chances of Ukraine's accession. According to the official, the EU leadership wants the agenda of the meeting to include the issue of opening accession talks with Ukraine and is trying to nudge Budapest toward agreeing to this decision.

"We believe that Ukraine's accession to the EU would have disastrous consequences for Hungary," the prime minister said. "Under the current circumstances, Ukraine's accession to the EU seems untimely. Therefore, we should not support it."

On Wednesday, before leaving for Brussels, the Hungarian prime minister spoke in the Hungarian parliament, presenting detailed arguments against starting the accession talks. The Hungarian government believes that Ukraine is not ready for this yet and its accession to the EU would seriously damage the interests of all members of the bloc. The overwhelming majority of Hungarian lawmakers supported this view.

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