December 22 ------ We're hearing more now from Viktor Orban, who has been speaking at an international news conference today.
The Hungarian nationalist leader said he has accepted an invitation from Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold a bilateral meeting at some point in the future. If it does go ahead, it would mark the first official bilateral meeting between the two leaders since the start of the war.
Mr Orban said Mr Zelenskyy proposed the meeting earlier this month and suggested the pair should "negotiate". "I told him I'd be at his disposal. We just have to clarify one question: about what?" he said. Mr Orban claimed that the Ukrainian president wanted to discuss Ukraine's bid to join the EU - a move Hungary is strongly opposed to.
Earlier, Mr Orban also appeared to provide an explanation as to why he blocked a proposed €50bn (£43.4bn) multi-year assistance package for Kyiv earlier this month. The Hungarian leader said money for Ukraine should not come from the EU's central budget and would be "a bad decision"
Source: news.sky.com
Comments