The foreign minister warned that a protracted war in Ukraine would likely result in “the senseless death of thousands, lingering wartime inflation deepening into a global economic crisis, and energy security taking a hit.”
Szijjártó praised the latest Strategic Concept adopted by NATO leaders on Wednesday which promoted and reaffirmed the alliance’s values and purpose of ensuring member nations’ “collective defense.” The foreign minister said it was “high time” for an update of the strategic document “as the security environment has changed a lot since 2010” when it had last been updated following the NATO Lisbon summit.
Szijjártó also approved of the latest comprehensive support package for Ukraine to be agreed between NATO member states, a package he said “ensures that NATO will continue to refrain from delivering lethal aid to Ukraine.
“Its fundamental approach makes it possible to avoid direct confrontation between the alliance and Russia,” he added.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page on Thursday, the foreign minister wrote: “The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than 120 days now. It's high time to put peace at the center of NATO's efforts.”
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter