Ukraine and Hungary agreed to rebuild relations at the first bilateral meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Prime Minister Peter Magyar, held in Brussels on October 16, and Kyiv now wants its last two EU accession clusters opened by the end of the year.

"Today, we have truly opened a new chapter. This is a reset across all tracks: political, economic, humanitarian and others," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, Kyiv Post reported. The foreign ministry called the meeting historic and said co-operation would focus on trade, border infrastructure, business contacts and people-to-people ties. Sybiha then met his Hungarian counterpart Anita Orban to work out how to implement the agreements.

Hungary had blocked progress on Ukraine's EU accession talks for years. Viktor Orban's government tied every step of Ukraine's EU talks to the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Zakarpattia, and Magyar's government kept the linkage until the Verkhovna Rada passed amendments expanding schooling in minority languages that are official EU languages on October 12. Zelenskiy signed them the same day, and Hungary welcomed the vote.

"We had a very good meeting," Zelenskiy told reporters, saying the two had discussed "many things, including relations, the economy, and logistics" and that he "won't mind" visiting Budapest, DW reported. Magyar wrote on Facebook that he had assured Zelenskiy "of my full solidarity over the inhuman Russian aggression against his country" and offered Hungary's help by diplomatic means to reach a ceasefire.

After the law was adopted, Hungary dropped its objections to Cluster 2, the internal market, and Cluster 3, competitiveness and inclusive growth. Both opened on October 13, bringing the total to four of six. Cluster 1, fundamentals, opened on June 15 and Cluster 6, external relations, on July 14. Kyiv is aiming for Cluster 4, the green agenda and sustainable connectivity, and Cluster 5, resources, agriculture and cohesion, before the end of 2026.

The timetable is looser on the EU side. A day before the meeting, Hungary and Bulgaria had stripped "as soon as possible" from the summit's draft conclusions on opening Ukraine's and Moldova's remaining clusters, leaving a merit-based expectation with no date.

Further talks could be held in Berehove, a centre of Ukraine's Hungarian community, Magyar said, according to Euronews. Zelenskiy has also been invited to Budapest for the October 23 commemoration of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, deputy presidential chief of staff Ihor Zhovkva told the broadcaster. He is considering it, but no visit has been confirmed. The reset falls ahead of the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 70th anniversary of the 1956 uprising against Soviet rule.