Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Sputnik in an interview that Hungary’s agenda does not include accession of neighboring Ukraine into NATO, since this would mean a direct confrontation between the Alliance and Russia, and would lead to World War III. According to Szijjarto, since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Budapest has drawn red lines—one of them is that it is necessary to “do our best and utmost in order to avoid any form of direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.”
“So in case Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, that would mean a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. And that would mean Third World War. We just simply want to avoid that. This is for us, it’s a non-existing issue on the agenda,” Szijjarto said. Most of his colleagues from NATO countries, in conversations with Ukrainian representatives, he added, talk about Kyiv’s possible accession to the Alliance, but in a closed circle they admit that it is impossible.
Szijjarto also commented on the change in Russia’s nuclear doctrine on Sept. 25, stating that the risks outlined therein would not exist if the conflict in Ukraine ended. Szijjarto said that events of this kind were basically arguments in favor of the Hungarian position on the need for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, since if it ends, then such risks can be eliminated. According to the minister, the international community should pay much more attention to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict, since it definitely does not have a solution on the battlefield.
