On Tuesday, during her visit to Slovenia, Baerbock commented on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's proposal to refrain from discussing Ukraine's accession to the EU at the upcoming EU summit, saying that it was not time to "play games."
"I am reading the statement by my German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, in Ljubljana. With all due respect to the minister, I think that she fundamentally misunderstands the situation. Hungary's position on Ukraine's accession to the EU is thought out and well-founded, there is no blackmailing or even a "game" in it. We categorically refuse to mix up things that do not have anything in common," Szijjarto wrote on social media.
The minister added that "neither Hungarian people nor the Hungarian government nor the parliament" see in what way accelerated accession talks with Ukraine would be good for Europe.
"Ukraine is just far away for being fit to join [the EU] or even for talks on that, that's why it would be better to develop strategic partnership first," Szijjarto also said.
Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022 and was granted candidate status four months later, all against the backdrop of the Russian special military operation. On November 8 of this year, the European Commission recommended launching accession talks with Ukraine. The formal decision is expected to be made at the EU's December 14-15 summit in Brussels, and it will require the unanimous support of all member states.
Following a meeting with European Council President Charles Michel in Budapest last week, Orban said he suggested that Brussels not include the Ukraine accession talks on the December summit's agenda, but rather postpone it for five to 10 years until a clearer outlook for strategic cooperation with the country takes shape.