Hungary says the EU should not begin membership talks with Ukraine and instead should offer Kyiv some sort of “privileged partnership,” according to Sky News.

Since the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Orbán has regularly made anti-Ukrainian statements, calling the war “a military operation” and saying that Kyiv should forget about joining NATO.

Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister of Hungary, said Kyiv was not yet suitable for membership and could bring the conflict to the EU after the European Commission said Ukraine is ready to begin accession negotiations with the EU Council.

Breaking: EU recommends opening talks with Ukraine on accession to bloc

EU nations will decide next month whether to accept a recommendation by the EU Commission to invite Kyiv for talks once it implements the reforms needed for the accession. It requires backing from all 27 member states.

Related: 

• European Commission to recommend starting talks on Ukraine’s accession to EU – media
• Overwhelming majority of Ukrainians support Ukraine’s membership in NATO and EU – poll
• Latvian FM calls for EU support of Ukraine’s membership on Europe Day