All NATO Countries Agree Ukraine's Admission to Alliance Impossible for Now - Budapest

BUDAPEST (Sputnik) - Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Tuesday that a consensus among NATO countries persists that it is impossible for Ukraine to join the alliance now, but it may be possible in the future if conditions are met and the allies agree.

"There is agreement at least that Ukraine's accession to NATO is impossible for now," Szijjarto told journalists after the end of the first day of NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

"A consensus formula has been formed that it [the accession] would be possible if the conditions are met and the allies agree. These are the two conditions now, there are no changes here. There was no breakdown of the agreement that Ukraine's accession to NATO is unimaginable in current conditions."

The foreign minister called the consensus the right thing to do as Ukraine's admission to NATO now would mean the beginning of World War III.

Szijjarto also said many NATO countries "cautiously and in low voice" admitted that the results of Ukraine's counteroffensive were far from expectations, as the situation on the battlefield had not changed much and there had been no breakthrough of the front line.

"The realization has come" that Ukraine's counteroffensive "has yielded results noticeably far from expectations, no one disputed this today," the foreign minister said, adding that "the overwhelming majority [of NATO members] did not address the issue" in their addresses, and a single counterpart's attempt to explain that Kiev's counteroffensive would be victorious had been "isolated."

The minister also noted that NATO countries, for the first time, mentioned in a positive way the fact that Hungary has a strong government and not a "dictatorship" and a threat.

"I noted that it is fantastic to hear in this circle that a strong government is something positive. Because I have been participating in meetings of NATO, the European Union and similar organizations as a foreign minister for over nine years, and everywhere I heard that a strong government is dangerous and means dictatorship. And here they mentioned in a positive way that Hungary and Turkiye have strong governments," Szijjarto said.

The minister added "it could not be understood from the outside that Sweden was not in NATO" because Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom was present at the meeting.

Sweden, along with Finland, submitted its NATO application in May 2022, several months after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine.

Finland became a member of the alliance in April 2023. Sweden's application is still pending ratification by Turkiye and Hungary.