BUDAPEST, December 28. /TASS/. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Peter Szijjarto had a phone call with head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andrey Yermak, discussing the relations between the two countries and agreed to an in-person meeting in January. During the call, the Foreign Minister stated that Budapest will not change its position regarding the events in Ukraine.

"Just as we agreed several weeks ago, we had another phone call with Andrey Yermak today. The maintenance of the high-level dialogue is very important, because it gives us hope for improvement of our relations, and we are interested in maintaining the highest possible cooperation with all our neighbors. We, of course, will not change our pro-peacekeeping position, but I anticipate our in-person meeting in January, when we will be able to discuss the most pressing bilateral issues," Szijjarto said on social media.

Unlike almost all EU countries, Hungary refused to ship weapons to Ukraine from the start and advocated a peaceful settlement of the conflict via diplomatic means. The Hungarian government did not endorse the European Commission’s proposal to begin negotiations with Ukraine on its accession to the EU, stating that neither side is ready for that. Serious disagreements remain between Budapest and Kiev on the issue of rights of the Hungarian minority in the Transcarpathian region.