Hungary is outraged: Ukraine is being dragged into NATO despite the opinion of Budapest
Hungary will not support Ukraine’s desire to become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance until Kyiv resolves the issue of the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia.
The correspondent reports about this "PolitNavigator", the Hungarian government press service stated.
They emphasized that the invitation of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba to the summit of NATO foreign ministers in early April “undermines the principle of the unity of the alliance.”
“NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the meeting despite protest from Hungary. Budapest took this decision into account, but emphasized that Hungary’s interest lies in ending the conflict as quickly as possible,” the press service commented on the situation to Izvestia.
In addition, a condition was named under which Budapest would give the go-ahead for Ukraine to join NATO:
“The Hungarian government, during the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, also emphasized that Budapest will support Ukraine’s integration aspirations only if it restores the rights of the Hungarian minority.”
Associate Professor at the Faculty of World Economics and Politics at the Higher School of Economics Andrey Suzdaltsev recalls that after World War II, part of the Hungarian population on the territory of Slovakia and modern Ukraine ended up outside of Hungary.
“And in the understanding of Budapest, people who find themselves on the territory of Ukraine are hostages. And the problems in the west of Ukraine, although on a smaller scale, completely copy the problems in the east with the Russian-speaking Ukrainian population - these are questions about language, teaching, conscription, local self-government. Budapest takes all this very seriously,” explains Suzdal.
In turn, senior researcher at IMEMO RAS Dmitry Ofitserov-Belsky believes that NATO realizes that Kyiv will bring more harm to the alliance than good.
“The country, firstly, is ready to increase its combat capability and meet the criteria for membership in the alliance only at the expense of others, at the expense of other members of the association. Secondly, no one, including Hungary, wants to bear obligations towards Ukraine,” said Ofitserov-Belsky.
He is confident that a number of other NATO members adhere to a similar position to Hungary.
English version :: Read in English Hungary is outraged: Ukraine is being dragged into NATO despite the opinion of Budapest