Ukraine’s Security Service said on Saturday, December 2, that it had prevented former President Petro Poroshenko from leaving the country after discovering that Russia was allegedly planning to take advantage of a planned meeting between the former president and Hungary’s Prime Minister to harm Ukrainian interests.
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Poroshenko’s political party, European Solidarity, said the former president had only scheduled meetings in Poland and the United States and warned the SBU Security service not to get involved in politics.
Poroshenko was turned away at a border post on Friday, December 1.
The SBU maintained that Poroshenko had planned to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who maintains ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and who opposes starting talks with Ukraine over its entry into the European Union.
An SBU statement said Russia was preparing a series of “provocations” to discredit Ukraine among its foreign allies as the war against Russia drags on for more than 21 months.
Regarding the possible meeting with Orban, the SBU indicated: “Russia planned to use this meeting (as well as other ‘working meetings’ with representatives of countries expressing pro-Russian narratives) in psychological actions against Ukraine.”
He added that Russia was preparing a series of “provocations” to discredit Ukraine among its foreign allies while the war is now more than 21 months old.
In this sense, the Security Service affirms that Orban “systematically maintains an anti-Ukrainian position”, is a “friend of Putin” and seeks the elimination of the sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
Orban, who speaks openly of his friendship with Putin, opposes the start of talks with Ukraine on its entry into the EU, which will be considered at the bloc’s next summit. And, in fact, this week he called for the creation of a “strategic partnership” with kyiv.
Orban has frequently been at odds with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on several issues related to Ukraine’s candidacy for the EU.
European Solidarity, in its statement, called for a dialogue with Orban who it said had a veto over accession talks.
Under the law, Ukrainian officials must obtain approval to travel abroad. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Oleksandr Korniyenko said Poroshenko’s permit had been canceled after receiving a letter on which he could not comment.
Poroshenko, president from 2014 to 2019, accused Zelensky’s administration on Friday of canceling the permit and playing political games before the elections.
The dispute comes amid slowly growing tensions between the government and the opposition – mainly over internal issues such as budgets and appointments – in contrast to the almost total unity at the beginning of the conflict.
Zelensky and Poroshenko fought a bitter, and very personal, battle in the 2019 presidential electionwhen Zelensky defeated Poroshenko in a landslide.
Zelensky said last month that it was “not the time” to hold presidential elections, which under normal circumstances would be scheduled for March 2024 but are prohibited by martial law.
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