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Ukraine will weaken, not strengthen NATO if it becomes member — Hungarian minister

According to Peter Szijjarto, Ukraine's accession would practically mean the emergence of a completely open military conflict between the US and NATO on one side and Russia on the other

BUDAPEST, July 11. /TASS/. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Ukraine's accession to NATO will weaken the alliance's unity, rather than strengthen it.

"Ukraine's accession to NATO will not strengthen, but weaken the unity of the alliance, where there are widely diverging positions on this issue," the minister said in an interview with Hungarian broadcaster M1.

"The defensive nature of the alliance will not be strengthened with Ukraine's accession, because Ukraine's accession would practically mean the emergence of a completely open military conflict between the US and NATO on one side and Russia on the other," said Szijjarto, who is accompanying Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the NATO summit in Washington.

He said Hungary had warned its allies to approach the issue of Ukraine's bid to join NATO with extreme caution.

"We are asking the North Atlantic Alliance and all our allies, when it comes to Ukraine's possible membership in NATO, to approach it with utmost caution," the minister said.

He also said the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting in Washington will be ridden with controversy about Ukraine's accession bid.

The meeting, which Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky plans to attend, will be the final event of the summit.

"The NATO-Ukraine Council meeting will be a meeting filled with contradictions," Szijjarto said.

The NATO summit's declaration on Wednesday pledged the alliance will continue to support Ukraine "on its irreversible path toward full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership." The declaration also stated NATO will invite Ukraine to join when all allies reach agreement and the conditions for accession are met.

The decisions taken at the summit and the Ukraine-NATO Council, coupled with the ongoing work of the allies, constitute a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine, according to the declaration. It also stated that NATO foreign ministers will assess Ukraine's progress in reforms on an annual basis.

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