Hungary’s Orbán casts doubt on European Union accession talks for Ukraine

By JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has cast doubt on the prospect of the European Union beginning negotiations any time soon for Ukraine to join the bloc. Speaking to state radio on Friday, Orbán said the EU will have to answer “very long and difficult questions until we get to the point where we can even decide whether to start negotiations” on Ukraine’s EU membership. The European Council is set to begin accession talks in December, and Ukraine has said it hopes to join the bloc within two years. Orbán, who has sparred with Kyiv over language rights for a Hungarian minority in western Ukraine, said Friday that it would be ”unprecedented” to admit a country that is at war.