Ukraine’s accession to NATO would immediately lead to the start of the third world war, as it would mean that the North Atlantic Alliance is at war with Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on public radio on Friday, MTI quoted. As always, Orbán, who opposes the supply of arms to Kyiv, did not express any criticism of Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

• “If we did what the Ukrainian president is asking for, we would get into the third world war,” Orban said in an interview with Kossuth Radio, writes Agerpres with reference to MTI.

“Westerners want war”

In a story that repeats Orbán’s statements in detail, EFE notes that the Hungarian prime minister accused the West of wanting to continue the war in Ukraine, but did not formulate any criticism of the occupying country, Russia.

• “Westerners want war. There is an overwhelming majority of those who support the war,” said Viktor Orbán, who was in the city of Sopron, where the Hungarian government was meeting for three days.

Viktor Orbán also spoke about the NATO summit on Tuesday and Wednesday in Vilnius, where member states discussed, among other things, Ukraine’s possible entry into the alliance, which is currently being rejected.

In this sense, Orban stated that “Ukraine’s demands (regarding the country’s accession to NATO) are clear, but if we fulfill them, we will get into the third world war.”

Kyiv leaders are accused of “claims”

At the same time, the Hungarian prime minister criticized the way Ukrainian leaders communicate, saying that it is often “aggressive and demanding”, and added that by supplying Western weapons, Ukraine “is not getting closer to peace”.

The conservative prime minister repeated that Ukraine has “lost its sovereignty” because it has no money and is fighting with Western weapons.

Hungary is one of two NATO member states, along with Turkey, that has yet to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO, and Viktor Orbán has not said when the issue might be discussed in the Budapest parliament.

Orban is considered the EU leader closest to Moscow, but although he criticized EU sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine, he approved all EU punitive packages, reminds EFE.

For its part, MTI accepts the statement of Prime Minister Orbán, who announced that he is focusing on studying the legal and political measures available to the executive in Budapest to prevent Brussels from implementing the migrant quota plan.

Leaders of NATO member states, who gathered this week at a summit in Vilnius, agreed to invite Ukraine to join the alliance when conditions allow.

• What does Volodymyr Zelensky bring to the Ukrainian army from the NATO summit beyond the promises?

At the same time, the members of the military bloc decided to abandon the imposition of the Membership Action Plan (MAP), changing Ukraine’s accession process from a two-stage process to a one-stage one.