In an interview with Sputnik, Szijjarto said that 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 the Third World War. We just simply want to avoid that. This is [why] for us it's a non-existing issue on the agenda," Szijjarto said.
According to the minister, most of his colleagues from NATO countries, in conversations with Ukrainian representatives, talk about Kyiv's possible accession to the alliance, but in a closed circle, they admit that this is impossible.
In early October, the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv. During the visit, he said that the day would come when Ukraine would become a full member of NATO, and Russia would not have a veto on this issue. At the same time, the secretary-general did not name any timeframe for a possible invitation to Ukraine to NATO, which requires a unanimous decision by all members of the alliance. Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that Ukraine's possible membership in NATO was a threat to Russia's security. He emphasized that the risks of Kyiv joining the alliance were one of the reasons for the launch of the special military operation.
Peter Szijjarto commented on the change in Russia's nuclear doctrine, stating that the risks outlined in it 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.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban earlier said at an international press conference in the European Parliament that Ukraine would not be able to win on the battlefield and called on it to negotiate.
SD/
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