Hungarian PM dissatisfied with start of Ukraine's EU accession talks but will not block them

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said he does not support the decision to start EU accession talks for Ukraine and considers it a "politically motivated process".

"Hungary does not agree with this accession process, but we are not blocking it and support the start of negotiations," Orbán said  in an interview with the Funke media group, cited by Tagesschau.

He called the decision to start talks a "politically motivated process" for Ukraine.

He said that it is necessary to first study "what the consequences would be if we accept a country in a state of war whose borders are not defined in practice".

An EU-Ukraine intergovernmental conference will be held in Luxembourg on Tuesday, 25 June to mark the official opening of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

Prior to this, the Council of the European Union approved the negotiating framework for Ukraine and Moldova, paving the way for the launch of accession talks.

Hungary, at permanent representative level, blocked the decision, citing "insufficient progress made by Ukraine on national minorities". But after assurances that its demands would be included in the negotiating framework, Hungary lifted its veto.