BUDAPEST, July 14. /TASS/. Extending an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO would have triggered the outbreak of a new world war, and thus the North Atlantic Alliance’s leaders did the right thing by refraining from taking this step at the Vilnius summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday.

"Had we accepted Ukraine into NATO, this would have meant immediate world war," he told the Kossuth radio station. That said, he lamented that belligerent attitudes in favor of prolonging the Ukrainian conflict still predominate in public opinion across Western countries.

"Residents of Western countries want the war" in Ukraine, Orban noted, adding that "the Ukrainians are being aggressive" by constantly demanding certain benefits for themselves. Given this, the prime minister stated that the conflict in Hungary’s eastern neighbor would last for a while longer and, thus, the Hungarian government should be ready for this.

​​​​​​​