Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned of a new world war immediately if Ukraine joins NATO.
In a radio interview broadcast on Friday, Orban said the plan to include Ukraine in the alliance should have been blocked and "canceled" at the NATO summit, which was held last Tuesday and Wednesday, in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
According to Orban, the West wants the Russian-Ukrainian war to last a long time. "So the Hungarian government must be prepared for the fact that war and sanctions are not going away soon."
Criticism of Zelensky
Orban criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's "unusual" style of communication, telling him: "If you are in trouble and want to help, act appropriately."
He added that British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised Ukraine's president after the NATO summit for "not being grateful".
Ben Wallace said on Wednesday that the UK was not the "Amazon store" for the weapons Ukraine needs.
This came in response to a question about whether the allies failed to give Zelensky a timeframe for NATO membership during the Vilnius summit and whether this "undermines the morale of Ukrainian forces on the front line."
NATO leaders agreed at their summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius that Ukraine's future lies within the alliance, pledging to "work closely to address the threats and challenges posed by Russia," according to a statement issued Tuesday by the summit.
"Ukraine's future is in NATO," the final statement agreed by the leaders said, adding that Kiev's Euro-Atlantic integration went beyond the need for a membership action plan.
But the leaders meeting in the Lithuanian capital stopped short of extending an invitation to Kiev or announcing a timetable for its accession, while NATO scrapped a demand from Ukraine to meet the so-called membership action plan, effectively removing an obstacle that had been in Kiev's way to joining.