FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with Moldova's President Maia Sandu and President of the European Council Charles Michel, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
(Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that he was travelling to Argentina.
Zelenskiy, who announced his trip on the Telegram messaging app and is on his first visit to Latin America, will be attending the inauguration on Sunday of Argentine President Javier Milei.
The Ukrainian president said he had met the prime minister of the West African country of Cape Verde on his way to Argentina.
Ukrainian media speculated this week that Milei's inauguration could serve as a backdrop for a meeting between Zelenskiy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to resolve differences over Ukraine's bid for European Union membership.
An EU summit next week will decide on whether to start talks with Ukraine and neighbouring former Soviet republic Moldova -- as recommended by the EU Executive Commission -- on their bids to secure membership.
A decision must be taken unanimously and Orban has repeatedly voiced opposition to starting the talks now.
Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said this week that he was trying to arrange a suitable time for a meeting between the president and Orban.
Like the new Argentine president, Orban is an advocate of right-wing views. In a posting on Saturday on X, formerly Twitter, he said he had already met Milei. Orban hailed the electoral success of the right "not only in Europe but all around the world."
(Reporting by Ron Popeski; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
