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Polish FM slams Hungary 'blackmail' over Ukraine EU membership

14.09.2025 14:00
Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Saturday accused Hungary of blackmailing the European Union by obstructing Ukraine's bid to join the 27-member bloc.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski addresses a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (not pictured) following their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, 12 September 2025. Radosław Sikorski arrived in Kyiv to meet with top Ukrainian officials amid the Russian invasion.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski addresses a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (not pictured) following their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, 12 September 2025. Radosław Sikorski arrived in Kyiv to meet with top Ukrainian officials amid the Russian invasion.Photo: Sergey Dolzhenko PAP/EPA.

Ukraine applied to join the EU days after Russia invaded in February 2022, but has been unable to advance accession talks due to vetoes imposed by Hungary's Kremlin-friendly leader Viktor Orban.

"You can blackmail all of the EU with your bilateral issues, but there are limits," Sikorski said at a conference in Kyiv.

"In our view Hungary has gone beyond what is reasonable," he added.

Sikorski has on several occasions slammed the Hungarian government for “sabotaging the EU” in coordination with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid a sharp diplomatic spat between Warsaw and Budapest.

In July, in a social media post, he wrote that “Viktor Orbán has turned Hungary into the poorest country in the European Union and is now threatening to leave [the bloc].”

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Relations between Hungary and Ukraine have sunk to new lows in recent months, with both sides accusing each other of spying, diplomatic expulsions and Budapest imposing travel bans on several Ukrainian officials.

Kyiv needs the unanimous approval of all member states at dozens of different stages to advance its EU bid.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Integration, Taras Kachka, said Kyiv would maintain dialogue with Budapest.

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Source: AFP