Malyar stated that Hungary will not join the "Carpathian Eight"

Hungary received an invitation to join the Ukraine-initiated "Carpathian Eight" (C8), but did not accept it. This was stated on September 21 by Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar, reports Hungarian outlet HVG.

According to Magyar, Budapest deliberately decided not to join the new regional format.

"We were invited, but we had good reasons not to go," — stated the head of the Hungarian government.

Magyar also denied earlier reports that Hungary is already a participant in C8. According to him, if the decision on the country's participation in the new association is unknown to him as prime minister, then Hungary does not participate in this format. Following the prime minister's statement, HVG sent additional questions to the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.

The uncertainty arose after the first Carpathian Summit, held on September 18 in Ivano-Frankivsk region. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the launch of C8 and named Ukraine, Austria, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Hungary and Czechia among the countries of the new format. The President's Office also reported that Hungarian representatives were expected to join the economic part of the event.

At the same time, Hungary was not represented among the signatories of the first summit's declaration. In the document published by the President's Office, the participants listed include representatives of Ukraine, Austria, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. Hungary and Czechia are absent from the list of signatories.

Before Magyar's statement, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry told journalists that the head of the Hungarian Embassy in Kyiv was present at the event. The mere presence of the diplomat, as now follows from the prime minister's words, did not mean Budapest's accession to C8.

Ukraine envisions the "Carpathian Eight" as a regional format for cooperation in security, energy, transport and logistics, cross-border economic projects, and interaction between regions and communities. Zelenskyy stated that the initiative should unite the states of the Carpathian macro-region and create an additional mechanism of interaction at the EU level.

Thus, Ukraine initially included Hungary in the list of eight countries of the new format, but Budapest now officially declares that it did not accept the invitation to join.

Based on materials from: HVG, Telex, Office of the President of Ukraine