Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sent a letter on this occasion to his colleague Denisz Smihal. „Since the beginning, Hungary has stood up for the preservation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and you can count on this in the future”—he wrote. The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction that the Ukrainian government was willing to discuss outstanding issues in bilateral relations. In conclusion, he reassured his Ukrainian colleague that the Hungarian government would be a partner in cooperation based on mutual respect and good neighborhood relations. Hungarian-Ukrainian relations have been rather frigid since Kiev voted in 2017 for a new education policy which suppressed Hungarians in Transcarpathia. Until this dispute is resolved, Hungary continues to block NATO ministerial meetings with Ukraine. In recent months, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Szijjártó, managed to breathe new life into the two countries’ relations, meeting twice over the summer with his Ukrainian counterpart. Thus far, the Hungarian government has made no secret of the fact that they look forward to the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky, who was elected over a year ago. Although hopes for a longawaited meeting with Viktor Orbán emerged in July, the coronavirus epidemic, among other things, cancelled these plans. However, the Hungarian PM’s visit to Kiev is still on the agenda.