Orbán's veto on Ukraine's EU bid provides 'specific support' to Putin, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for providing "specific support" to Russian President Vladimir Putin by blocking Kyiv's ambition to articulation the European Union.

The deadlock has prevented some Ukraine and Moldova, which are informally coupled, from opening the archetypal clump of accession talks, fuelling choler and frustration.

"I don't deliberation that I person to connection thing to Viktor Orbán," Zelenskyy said, successful an interrogation via videolink with Euronews CEO and editorial manager Claus Strunz astatine the Euronews' EU Enlargement Summit.

"I deliberation that Victor Orbán has to connection thing for Ukraine, which is protecting the full Europe from Russia, and adjacent now, during this war, we did not get immoderate enactment from him, enactment of our imaginativeness of life," helium added.

"We wouldn't similar that Viktor would enactment Russia due to the fact that blocking Ukraine successful the EU is the precise circumstantial enactment by Viktor of Putin. And that is decidedly not that good, successful my opinion. That is my subjective opinion."

The Hungarian veto officially began successful July past year, erstwhile Budapest took implicit the rotating presidency of the EU Council. The blockage triggered outrage among different subordinate states, who spot accession arsenic a aboriginal information warrant for Kyiv.

The enactment escalated this twelvemonth aft Orbán convened a nationalist consultation to gauge Hungarian citizens' views connected Ukraine's EU rank application. He has since utilized the antagonistic results arsenic a "mandate" to warrant his veto.

A program to tweak the voting rules to mitigate the veto powerfulness fell level past month. "The unit is great," Orbán said successful Denmark, acknowledging the calls from his chap leaders. "We request each our spot to enactment retired of this war."

Orbán's filibustering has inspired informal talks astir reducing the veto powerfulness of caller EU members and implementing a alleged "probation period".

But during the Euronews summit, Zelenskyy appeared unconvinced by the untested idea, insisting that rank indispensable beryllium afloat fledged and enactment connected an adjacent footing.

"We person astatine the aforesaid array adjacent countries successful spite of the size of their territory oregon their population. It's important that they stock akin values," helium said.

"In my opinion, you cannot beryllium a semi- oregon demi-member of the EU."

'Those are the rules'

Despite mounting unit from different capitals, Budapest has stood its ground, prompting speculation that the obstruction volition lone beryllium lifted aft the state goes to ballot successful April 2026. Opinion polls amusement Orbán trailing down absorption person Péter Magyar.

Asked whether helium would effort to repair his idiosyncratic narration with Orbán oregon hold for the predetermination results, Zelenskyy refused to instrumentality a side.

"I don't deliberation that anyone has the close to power the prime of the Hungarian radical and the elections successful Hungary," Zelenskyy said. "That is their idiosyncratic right, and I don't privation to person thing successful communal with that."

The Ukrainian president stressed diplomacy should beryllium supra "personalities" and that leaders should "have the accidental to respect each other".

He past urged Orbán to travel the European Commission's assessment, which concludes that Kyiv has met each ineligible and method criteria to unfastened the archetypal clump of talks.

"We are astatine warfare for our survival, for our lives, and we wouldn't similar immoderate different beforehand lines, adjacent without weapons, immoderate governmental beforehand lines unfastened (with) different neighbours," helium said.

"We would truly similar the premier curate of Hungary to enactment us, astatine slightest not to artifact us," helium added.

"If determination are the rules and we comply with them, immoderate is needed to unfastened the clusters, we would similar to beryllium respected. And it's not lone the respect for us, but the respect of the Hungarian person for the rules and regulations of the European Union, arsenic Hungary is simply a subordinate of the EU. Those are the rules."