Poroshenko barred from leaving Ukraine over planned meeting with Orban — source

Former Ukrainian President and sitting MP Petro Poroshenko was not permitted to leave the country because he planned to meet with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, a government source told NV on Dec. 1.

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According to our source, the possibility of this unannounced meeting was one of the reasons for the parliamentary leadership's cancellation of Poroshenko's trip.

The Ukrainian leadership believes that a meeting between the former president and the Hungarian PM could further damage Ukraine-Hungary relations, which are currently in a crisis.

Orban is planning to block negotiations for Ukraine's entry into the European Union and the allocation of EUR 50 billion ($55 billion) in financial aid to Kyiv—both issues to be discussed at the upcoming EU summit in December.

Moreover, according to the NV source, Poroshenko's trip would have coincided with tours by several groups of Ukrainian officials to the United States to lobby for Ukrainian interests.

Poroshenko's European Solidarity party press service stated that their MPs are systematically prevented from attending international events.

“Those who are now trying to find justification for their refusals based on the Hungarian track, using Petro Poroshenko's former contacts with Viktor Orban, are wasting their efforts,” the party said in a statement.

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“It should be remembered that on Dec. 14-15, the European Council will announce its decision on the start of accession talks with Ukraine in Brussels, where Budapest has a right of veto. If Petro Poroshenko had the opportunity to assist, using his own personal positive experience and contacts to ensure this decision was successful, especially in light of recent statements, he would have done so.”

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Early on Dec. 1, Poroshenko stated that border guards did not allow him to leave Ukraine despite having an officially sanctioned business trip signed by the Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament.

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State Border Guard Service spokesman Andriy Demchenko told NV that Poroshenko was not allowed to travel abroad because his business trip was canceled. Later, Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Kornienko reported that the business trip had been canceled after receiving a confidential letter from a government institution, the contents of which he could not disclose.

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