Zelenskyy's office on Hungarian delegation's visit: Perhaps Hungarians have forgotten what bilateral relations are

Dmytro Lytvyn, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, has responded to remarks by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of lying about a supposed visit of a Hungarian delegation to Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, citing Lytvyn in a comment

Details: Szijjártó claimed on the evening of 11 March that the Ukrainian president was lying when he stated that he was not aware of the arrival of a Hungarian delegation. The Hungarian diplomat posted a note from Hungary's embassy to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry stating that the delegation would be in Kyiv on Thursday and Friday. The Hungarian embassy also asked the ministry to help organise a meeting between the delegation and Denys Shmyhal, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy.

"Perhaps they have forgotten what bilateral relations are, but official visits are based on agreement, not simply by notes thrown around," Lytvyn commented.

He also referred to a comment from Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, which said that a "group of Hungarian citizens" who had entered Ukraine did not have official status or any scheduled meetings.

"The Foreign Ministry has commented today that they have entered the country unofficially, simply as a group of private individuals," Lytvyn added.

He also suggested that it appeared they had travelled "to show themselves off on social media".

Background:

• On 11 March, a Hungarian delegation led by Gabor Czepek, Deputy Minister and State Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs in the Ministry of Energy, announced plans to visit Ukraine to hold talks on resuming the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline and to inspect its condition.
• Zelenskyy commented that he was not aware of what the Hungarian delegation was doing in Ukraine.

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