Poland suggests holding Foreign Affairs Council in Ukraine, Hungary opposes – FM
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski says he made a proposal to hold an informal meeting of the EU Council on Foreign Affairs in Ukraine instead of blocking it, but Hungary, which currently chairs the Council, opposed it.
Sikorski told reporters about this on Monday after a meeting of the Council on Foreign Affairs, at which, among others, the so-called "peacekeeping mission" to Moscow and Beijing of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was discussed, in connection with which the European Commission announced a boycott of informal meetings in Bucharest.
"There was a proposal to hold a Council on Foreign Affairs in Ukraine, as we did a couple of years ago. And this, in fact, was put to the vote, but Hungary was against it, in the only minority. Unfortunately," the Polish foreign minister said.
According to him, most ministers opposed Hungary being perceived in Beijing and Moscow as acting on behalf of the EU. "We respect the Hungarian people, we respect the sovereignty of Hungary, but there is also article 24 of the Union Treaty, which states that the member states are obliged to loyally support the agreed positions. And our agreed position is that Ukraine's borders should return to internationally recognized borders, that Russia is the aggressor, and that the aggressor should not be rewarded for aggression," Sikorski stated.
The minister also said that the issue of Orban's visits was the subject of discussion, but no decision was made.