BUDAPEST, August 3. /TASS/. Peace in Ukraine will be achieved when both the Ukrainians and the West realize that the country cannot be a NATO member, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
"We need to realize that peace will be achieved only when the Americans, the Europeans and the Ukrainians admit that the Russians will never allow NATO to expand to Ukraine, close to Russia’s western border," Orban said.
He thinks that the main reason behind the ongoing conflict was Ukraine’s NATO ambitions supported by the previous US administration and the majority of Western European countries. In his opinion, these plans violated the balance of forces in the world.
"When the balance of forces shifts, a war breaks out, as was the case with Russia and Ukraine," the premier said.
Orban also confirmed that, in his opinion, peace in Ukraine can be achieved only on the condition that the presidents of Russia and the United States meet in person and conclude a comprehensive agreement. Previously, he said that along with the Ukrainian conflict settlement, agreements between Moscow and Washington should also include issues of arms control, energy trade and cancellation of West’s anti-Russian sanctions.