Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto arrived in Ukraine for talks with senior officials on Monday, days before a European Union summit that will seek agreement on a financial aid package that has been held up by Budapest, APA reports citing Reuters.
Ukraine has said it hopes the bloc's 27 member states will agree at the summit in Brussels on Thursday to provide the four-year package that Kyiv plans to use to plug its budget deficit this year as it battles Russian forces in its south and east.
Hungary was the only member state that did not back the aid package at a summit in December.
Kyiv has said Monday's talks would try to lay the ground for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Szijjarto's talks in the western city of Uzhhorod with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak follow weeks of Hungarian opposition to the EU providing 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in aid.
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Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will meet his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in western Ukraine on Monday, ahead of an EU summit aimed at unlocking aid for the war-torn country, APA reports citing AFP.
Relations between the two neighbours have been strained over the past few years and were further aggravated when Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban in December vetoed 50 billion euros ($55 billion) in EU aid for Kyiv.
In an effort to mend ties and "find solutions" to their differences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested a direct meeting with Orban, and Monday's talks between Szijjarto and Kuleba in the city of Uzhhorod are intended to lay the groundwork.
Szijjarto has not visited Ukraine since Russia launched its offensive against Kyiv, although he has been to Moscow on several occasions.
Security measures were stepped up in Uzhhorod -- home to a large ethnic Hungarian community -- after a death threat against Szijjarto surfaced.
Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak will also attend the meeting.
Orban is the only EU leader who has maintained close ties with the Kremlin following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Orban expressed willingness to support Ukraine, provided the support is kept separate from the European Union's budget and reviewed annually.
The talks come just days before European Union leaders are due to convene for an extraordinary summit on Thursday to make progress on their stalled aid package for Kyiv.
In December, Orban abstained from a decision to open talks with Ukraine on joining the bloc by leaving the room when the vote was taken.
He has also called for ceasefire negotiations with Moscow, claiming that Ukraine cannot win the war.
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