Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar proposes meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky

Following the April 12 elections in Hungary and the departure of long-term leader Viktor Orban, Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar has announced plans to reset bilateral relations with Ukraine. Magyar formally requested a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in early June to resolve long-standing disputes regarding the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in the Transcarpathia region. The proposed venue for the meeting is the city of Berehove, which has a significant Hungarian-speaking population. Magyar, who consulted with Berehove Mayor Zoltan Babiak on April 28, aims to address legal restrictions on the Hungarian language in secondary education that have strained relations since 2017. As part of this policy shift, the incoming government intends to reconsider Hungary's previous opposition to EU loans for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Previous diplomatic tensions had been exacerbated by Budapest's blocking of European aid packages for Kyiv during the ongoing conflict.