Hungary Softens Position on Ukraine's C8 Platform

Budapest has softened its position on Ukraine’s newly unveiled Carpathian Eight (C8) platform, saying it maintains talks with Kyiv and has resolved certain misunderstandings.The C8 was launched on Sept. 18 as a platform for security cooperation, economic development, investment and cross-border projects, with Hungary among one of the eight proposed founding members.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.However, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said Budapest declined to join and later likened the initiative to “village football.”But speaking to Hungarian outlet Index on Thursday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban (no relation to former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban) said Budapest and Kyiv have resolved misunderstandings in subsequent talks.She said Budapest is open to joining if it “serves Hungary’s interests,” adding that she has maintained contacts with Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Vsevolod Chentsov on bilateral ties.“We are happy to participate in any regional cooperation and bilateral cooperation that serves Hungary’s interests,” Orban said.Tense ties with Budapest’s new administrationWhile Kyiv’s ties with Budapest have visibly improved after the ouster of former prime minister Orban, relations remain tense at times under the Magyar administration.While the Magyar government has been more receptive to cooperating with the EU, it has also maintained many of the Orban government’s right-leaning policies, including disputes with Ukraine over ethnic minorities. Other Topics of Interest Russian Drone Sparks Fire at Kyiv Office Building in Overnight Attack A Russian drone struck an office building in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district overnight, sparking a fire as attacks continued into Saturday. Magyar appeared to break from that approach in June, reaching what he called a “historic agreement” with President Volodymyr Zelensky to protect the educational, cultural, linguistic and political rights of Hungary’s community in Ukraine.But despite the agreement, Budapest has continued to block the opening of Ukraine’s internal-market and competitiveness clusters.The C8 dispute also marked the second recent incident suggesting potential internal divisions within Hungarian policy.On Sept. 20, Ukrainian national oil and gas company Naftogaz and Hungarian energy group MOL Downstream – in which Budapest has a 25 percent minority stake – signed a memorandum of understanding to construct refined petroleum storage facilities in Hungary near the Ukrainian border.But soon after news of the agreement broke, Magyar said there would be no Ukrainian fuel storage on Hungarian territory. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.