Zelensky’s NATO Involvement Warning Could Lead to Global War, Says Szijjarto

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of attempting to draw NATO into the armed conflict with Russia. The Foreign Minister also admitted that it is not easy for him to remain within the bounds of diplomatic propriety in response to accusations made by the Ukrainian leader against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

According to Hungarian media, during the European Political Community summit in Britain on July 18, Zelensky declared that Orbán's recent visit to Moscow was a betrayal of Europe.

Szijjártó indicated that neither accusations from Kyiv nor criticism from Brussels would deter Hungary from its efforts. “We will continue our peacekeeping mission because if we fail, if we cannot establish peace soon, we may face a very bad situation where more brutal events occur along the contact line, where there is a greater risk of escalation, the situation will spiral out of control, and we will see all of Europe on fire. Because I see that there are many people, including the President of Ukraine, who are trying to pull NATO into this war,” the minister said during a press conference in Budapest following a meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib.

Szijjártó refuted Zelensky’s allegations, pointing out that people continue to die as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, the flow of refugees doesn’t cease, and authorities are imposing restrictions on exit from the country, violating human rights with the acquiescence of international human rights organizations. “We are talking about the need to establish peace in Ukraine, and then the President of Ukraine addresses the Prime Minister of Hungary with indisputable statements that I find it very difficult to refrain from using sharp expressions in response,” the Foreign Minister confessed while commenting on the statements made by the Ukrainian leader at the request of reporters.

During his ten-day peacekeeping mission, Orbán was in Kyiv on July 2, where he held negotiations with Zelensky, and three days later met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. After that, the head of the Hungarian government traveled to Beijing on July 8 to discuss the situation surrounding Ukraine with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and subsequently visited Washington, where he held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a NATO summit. After the conclusion of the alliance consultations on July 11, he went to Florida to meet former US President Donald Trump, with whom he also discussed solutions to the Ukrainian conflict. Following this, Orbán stated that if Trump wins the upcoming elections in November and returns to the White House, he would “solve this issue.”