Hungary sends deputy ambassador instead of prime minister to Zelensky’s forum

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar did not attend the founding summit of the “Carpathian Eight,” organized by President Volodymyr Zelensky in Bukovel.

Hungary was represented at the level of deputy ambassador to Kyiv, Ukrainian media report.

The forum is taking place in Bukovel, Ivano-Frankivsk region, on September 18–20. The Carpathian 8 Summit is a new international format involving Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary.

Of the eight participants in the initiative, only Romania, Serbia, and Poland attended the summit at the level of heads of state, alongside Ukraine. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also did not attend.

Relations between Kyiv and Budapest remain tense. Hungary continues to block the opening of new clusters for Ukraine’s European integration. In addition, during a recent visit by Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk to the Hungarian capital, Hungarian parliament speaker Ágnes Forshtóffer refused to meet with him.