European Union ambassadors are meeting in Cyprus with expectations high that a €90bn (£78bn) EU loan seen as vital support for Ukraine can finally be paid out after months of deadlock.
The funding was agreed last December, but Hungary's Viktor Orbán slapped a veto on the payment in February in a row over supplies of Russian oil that came to a halt through a pipeline in Ukraine.
Ukraine said an oil hub on the Druzhba pipeline was damaged in Russian strikes, but Orbán demanded the oil start flowing again before the loan could be paid out.
The EU believes the deadlock is about to end as Ukraine says the pipeline has been repaired.
Orbán's election defeat last Sunday has also cleared the air for the EU, bringing to an end his 16-year era as Hungarian prime minister. Hungary's next leader, Péter Magyar, has prioritised a reset in Budapest's poor relations with Brussels.
