Magyar explains Hungary's refusal to participate in the 'Carpathian Eight' after Sybiha's statement

Prime Minister of Hungary Peter Magyar stated that his country did not join the Ukraine-initiated "Carpathian Eight" (C8). According to him, Budapest did not consent to participating in the new format, therefore it considers Ukraine's inclusion of Hungary in the list of its participants unacceptable.

Magyar thus responded to Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha, who the day before criticized the position of the new Hungarian government regarding C8 and Ukrainian-Hungarian energy projects.

"Claiming that a sovereign country is a participant in international cooperation without prior consultations or its consent is absolutely unacceptable", - wrote Magyar.

He illustrated his position with a comparison to a football team: according to him, the situation looks as if neighbors created a team, included a person they do not even know in it, and then asked him to "bring the ball".

The Hungarian Prime Minister already stated in the parliament on September 21 that the country is not a participant of the "Carpathian Eight", despite Ukraine inviting it to the new regional format. The Hungarian outlet Index confirms that Budapest attributes the refusal specifically to the lack of prior approval of participation.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Anita Orbán also dismissed the parallel drawn by Sybiha between the current government and the policy of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. According to her, the new government has taken a number of steps towards Ukraine, and international energy projects involving Hungarian companies cannot be implemented without involving the country's government.

Sybiha stated the day before that Kyiv is surprised by Magyar's "unjustifiably confrontational" statements. He noted that the Carpathian integration initiative is designed for the development of the region, transport and energy interconnectedness, and joint economic projects. The Ukrainian minister also accused the new Hungarian government of continuing the politics of blocking and isolation, which Kyiv associated with the previous government of Viktor Orbán.

Kurs.com.ua reported earlier that the reason for Sybiha's criticism was not only Budapest's refusal to join C8, but also Magyar's position regarding the plans to create oil storage facilities for Ukraine in Hungary.

Ukraine announced the creation of the "Carpathian Eight" during the summit in Ivano-Frankivsk region on September 18. Kyiv included Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Serbia, and Hungary in the format. The main areas of cooperation were to be energy, transport and logistics, security, investments, and cross-border projects.

At the same time, the Hungarian representative was not among the listed participants at the first plenary meeting. The Office of the President of Ukraine then stated that representatives of Hungary are to join the economic part of the summit in the evening. The very fact of participation of representatives in event segments does not mean Budapest's formal accession to the new format, which the government of Magyar now denies.

Based on materials from: Peter Magyar, Index, Office of the President of Ukraine