The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met in Rome to discuss Ukraine's progress towards EU membership.

Source: Ursula von der Leyen on social media after her meeting with Zelensky, reported by "European Truth".

Quote: "You can count on our support at the negotiation table to achieve a fair and lasting peace... Today, we also discussed the steps Ukraine is taking to earn its place in our family of nations".

Background: The EU was ready in January to open the first cluster in accession talks with Ukraine, but Hungary blocked this decision.

Budapest has pledged to continue blocking the opening of further clusters for Ukraine until "consultations" with the population on this issue are completed, during which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has already publicly voted against Ukraine's EU membership.