On 24 February, the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a meeting for the foreign ministers of the Visegrád Four (V4) countries and three other European Union member states, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria.

Following their meeting, the seven foreign ministers held a press conference about the issues they discussed. Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi began his remarks by stating that this was the first occasion for the V4+3 format, and this was the first time that the incumbent Presidency of the Council of the European Union had joined a V4 consultation. Mr. Martonyi underlined the fact that the V4 countries had issued a joint declaration in which the Ministers reiterated their strong interest in maintaining the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine and called on everyone involved to refrain from any action that could undermine this.

Download The Hungarian Foreign Minister expressed his disappointment at the abolishing of the minority language law by the Ukrainian parliament. Nevertheless, he also referred to a discussion he had held with the Ukrainian ambassador in Budapest, who claimed that a new and better language law would be adopted in Ukraine.

Asked about the financial package promised to Ukraine, János Martonyi declared that the financial package was being put together and that the international community was aware of its responsibility to provide swift and appropriate assistance to Ukraine. The other foreign ministers all expressed their support for the new inclusive national government that would be soon set up in Ukraine. Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Veniselos emphasised that a European perspective must be maintained for Ukraine. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski added that Moldova and Georgia need to be encouraged to continue their efforts to join the European Union within the framework of EU Eastern Partnership. Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek declared that the meeting was extremely useful and the positions of the participants were „relatively close” concerning climate and energy policy issues. Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcák asserted that the Foreign Ministers of the Visegrád countries are ready to visit Ukraine to share their transitional experiences regarding EU integration with the new inclusive government.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)