Salvadorans want democracy. But amid widespread violence that has wracked their nation since the end of civil war, citizens are voting for security over democratic governance. 

• EU aid for Ukraine: European Union leaders unanimously agree to extend €50 billion ($54 billion) in new aid to Ukraine, overcoming resistance from Hungary. Several cast Russia’s war in Ukraine, Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, as an existential challenge.
• U.S. House votes on tax breaks: A roughly $79 billion tax-cut package, which passed Jan. 31 with bipartisan support, would enhance the child tax credit for lower-income families and boost three tax breaks for businesses. The Senate has yet to take it up.
• U.S. assigns drone-attack blame: Washington attributes the attack, which killed three U.S. service members in Jordan, to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias, as President Joe Biden weighs his options to respond. 
• Greta goes to court: Climate activist Greta Thunberg is on trial in the United Kingdom after protesting outside a fossil fuel industry conference in London last year. The 21-year-old Swede and other protesters pleaded not guilty to charges of breaching a law that allows police to limit public assemblies.

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One of the most world-shaping negotiations took place this week in Hotel Amigo, a popular place in Brussels for European officials to stay. In one-to-one meetings and a group session, the continent’s top leaders overcame frosty relations with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and convinced him to drop his opposition to $54 billion in financial support for Ukraine.

The deal announced Feb. 1 by the 27-member European Union not only will uplift Ukraine’s defenses against Russia but also might spur the U.S. Congress to end its political disputes over further funding for Kyiv. It also sends a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that democratic discourse, when done in good faith among those with equal rights around the table, remains a model for the world. It can’t be suppressed by invading other countries or squelching dissent.

The Hungarian leader, who is close to Mr. Putin, certainly felt pressure from other EU leaders to support more aid for Ukraine. And the negotiations did require some balancing of national interests, such as the release of some EU funds for Hungary after reforms to its judiciary.

But as Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said of the talks, “We have a system of unanimity for making big decisions here in Brussels, but it’s on the basis that everyone acts in good faith and is willing to make compromises” on issues that are for “the greater good.”

Ukraine has also held direct talks with Hungary in recent days on a number of bilateral issues. The tone was one of empathy and openness, the elements of trust.

“We spoke frankly about our fears about each other’s intentions. We explained everything to each other,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. “The Hungarians distrust us, we distrust them – due to different circumstances, that’s understandable. And the fact that we discussed all this today ... I believe that this is very important.”

A key principle of international relations, laid down in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, is that countries negotiate in good faith, not out of revenge or to humiliate, but to create a space for finding shared interests, even perhaps shared values.

Sincere deliberation can be more than winning arguments or angling for more power. The mere act of listening to others requires a posture of equality, the essence of democracy. And that is what Ukraine is fighting for. And something that Hungary is supporting, too.