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Ukraine’s entry to NATO would spell world war, Hungary warns

Gergely Gulyas stressed that Kiev must ensure progress in protecting the rights of national minorities if it wants Budapest to endorse its membership application

© AP Photo/ Anna Szilagyi

BUDAPEST, February 9. /TASS. The Hungarian government does not back Ukraine’s aspiration to join NATO and makes Kiev’s potential entry to the EU contingent on protecting the rights of Ukraine’s national minorities, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyas told reporters Thursday.

Answering a question regarding Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, he noted that any country can file a membership application.

"However, right now, Ukraine’s immediate accession to NATO would mean world war," Gulyas cautioned.

Speaking about the prospects of Ukraine’s EU membership, he underscored that Kiev must ensure progress in protecting the rights of national minorities - particularly, Ukraine’s Hungarians in the Trans-Carpathian Region - if it wants Budapest to endorse its membership application. So far, legislation on education and the national language, adopted in Ukraine, "does not comply with European norms." "Progress has to be made" on these issues, the Hungarian official emphasized.

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