‘WHAT?!’

Orbán Apparently Didn’t Get the Memo on Ukraine Joining NATO

The Hungarian prime minister reacted with incredulity at a report about his neighbor joining the military alliance.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday seemed to sink Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO with a single word. On Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on a visit to Kyiv that “Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO” and “over time, our support will help you make this possible.” Reacting to a report about Stoltenberg’s remarks, Orbán on Friday tweeted: “What?!” Hungary, which is a member of the military alliance, has been somewhat at odds with other NATO states in its approach to Ukraine. Relations between the neighboring countries were strained in 2017 over a Ukraine law which prevents Transcarpathian ethnic minorities living in Ukraine studying in Hungarian, with Hungary attempting to block NATO-Ukraine Commission meetings ever since. All of NATO’s 31 member states have to sign-off on new accessions to the group. In 2008, all of the NATO allies at the time—including Hungary—agreed to let Ukraine join eventually.