Hungary has dropped its long-standing objections to advancing Ukraine's European Union accession talks after Kyiv enacted legislation strengthening rights for ethnic Hungarian minorities.

Prime Minister Peter Magyar and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held their first bilateral meeting Friday in Brussels on the sidelines of an EU summit. The leaders agreed to put relations on a new footing and continue consultations on minority issues, trade, and efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

Magyar welcomed the political agreement on strengthening the rights of the Transcarpathian Hungarian minority. He described Ukraine's adoption of the minority education law and the start of its implementation as the first step in restoring mutual trust.

Ukraine's parliament passed the legislation on Monday, expanding the rights of Hungarian speakers and other minorities to receive education in their native language. Hungary then lifted its veto, allowing the EU to open two additional negotiating clusters on October 13 covering the internal market and competitiveness and inclusive growth.

This brings the total number of opened clusters to four out of six. Earlier clusters on fundamentals and external relations opened in June and July.

The shift marks a departure from the approach under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who had repeatedly blocked progress on Ukraine's EU bid over minority rights concerns for years. Magyar's government maintained the linkage until the new law addressed Budapest's demands.

Magyar expressed full solidarity with Ukraine against Russian aggression and offered Hungary's diplomatic assistance to reach a ceasefire. Zelenskyy thanked the prime minister for the solidarity and for facilitating the opening of the new clusters, noting ongoing work to open the remaining two by the end of the year.

The two sides also discussed resuming high-level visits and cooperation on bilateral issues. A follow-up meeting could occur in western Ukraine or Budapest later this year.

The developments come as Ukraine seeks to accelerate its EU path amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. Hungary's pragmatic engagement has removed a key obstacle while securing protections for its minority community in the Zakarpattia region.