BUDAPEST, April 25. /TASS/. NATO is getting more closely involved in the Ukrainian conflict, pushing it to a new phase, said Gergely Gulyas, minister in charge of the Hungarian prime minister's office.
The minister was commenting following a discussion that the Hungarian cabinet held about the situation in Ukraine, he said.
"The new situation is related to the fact that, while member states of the alliance supported hostilities only in their individual capacity before, now NATO is preparing to become an active player in this war," Gulyas told reporters.
According to the minister, the North Atlantic Alliance "wants to provide financial assistance, as well as supply weapons and train Ukrainian soldiers." Also, some EU leaders, such as the French president, "are now quite openly talking about the need to send soldiers to Ukraine," Gulyas said.
He said the Hungarian cabinet is concerned about these developments, as Western aid to Ukraine, which started with supplying helmets, has now evolved to encompass the most powerful types of weapons.
"However, this did not bring victory to Ukraine or bring back its territories, but only led to the continuation of the war," the minister said.
Events around Ukraine could take a turn for the worst, Gulyas said, eventually causing another world war, as the West and Russia have nuclear weapons and are already in a state of confrontation. Therefore, NATO should avoid direct conflict with Moscow, he said. The Hungarian government is in regular consultations on this issue with the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.
Budapest continues efforts to convince its allies to "stay out of the war" and does not plan to participate in it in any way, the minister said.
"We will continue to not supply arms, we will not send soldiers there and we will not allow the transportation of weapons across the Hungarian-Ukrainian border," he said.
He said that Hungary made the right decision joining NATO 25 years ago, but the alliance's actions "are going beyond its mandate" now.