Hungarian official says there is ‘no consensus’ on inviting Ukraine to join NATO

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s foreign minister said a meeting of his counterparts from NATO member countries in Brussels on Wednesday had produced “no consensus” on the prospect of inviting Ukraine to join the transatlantic military alliance, a step Kyiv sees as an essential condition for bringing an end to Russia’s war.

Péter Szijjártó, a fervent critic of Ukraine with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, criticized some Western countries that have increased military support to Kyiv following Donald Trump’s election to the White House, claiming such moves risked escalating the conflict.

He warned that bringing Ukraine into NATO’s ranks “would be tantamount to initiating World War III.”

“We believe that Ukraine would not be able to add to European security in its present situation, but rather, as a country at war, inviting Ukraine into NATO we would risk … the threat of war, namely, the threat of a NATO-Russian war,” Szijjártó told a news conference.

The meeting of NATO foreign ministers came as Russia makes advances on the battlefield in Ukraine while Kyiv’s Western supporters seek to improve its position before Trump takes office in January.

Trump has criticized the billions the Biden administration has spent in supporting Ukraine and has said he could end the war in 24 hours, comments that appear to suggest he would press Ukraine to surrender territory that Russia now occupies.

Leaders of the 32 NATO member countries have declared that Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to membership. But NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Tuesday sidestepped questions about Ukraine’s possible membership in the alliance, saying that the priority now must be to strengthen the country’s hand in any future peace talks with Russia by sending it more weapons.

Consensus among all NATO countries is required for admitting new members.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has recently suggested that extending alliance membership to territory now under Kyiv’s control could end “the hot stage” of the almost three-year war.

But Szijjártó on Wednesday voiced skepticism over increased Western support being able to influence the conflict in Ukraine’s favor.

“In spite of the arms shipments pouring there, Ukraine’s situation on the battlefield gets worse every day,” he said. “If someone talks about the improvement of the situation of the Ukrainians as an easily achievable goal on the battlefield, they do nothing but deceive themselves and the Ukrainians as well.”

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Justin Spike, The Associated Press