BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's foreign minister said a meeting of his counterparts from NATO member countries in Brussels on Wednesday had produced “no consensus” on the prospect of inviting Ukraine to join the transatlantic military alliance, a step Kyiv sees as an essential condition for bringing an end to Russia's war.
Péter Szijjártó, a fervent critic of Ukraine with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin's government, criticized some Western countries that have increased military support to Kyiv following Donald Trump's election to the White House, claiming such moves risked escalating the conflict.
He warned that bringing Ukraine into NATO’s ranks “would be tantamount to initiating World War III.”
“We believe that Ukraine would not be able to add to European security in its present situation, but rather, as a country at war, inviting Ukraine into NATO we would risk ... the threat of war, namely, the threat of a NATO-Russian war," Szijjártó told a news conference.
The meeting of NATO foreign ministers came as Russia makes advances on the battlefield in Ukraine while Kyiv's Western supporters seek to improve its position before Trump takes office in January.
Trump has criticized the billions the Biden administration has spent in supporting Ukraine and has said he could end the war in 24 hours, comments that appear to suggest he would press Ukraine to surrender territory that Russia now occupies.
Leaders of the 32 NATO member countries have declared that Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to membership. But NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Tuesday sidestepped questions about Ukraine’s possible membership in the alliance, saying that the priority now must be to strengthen the country’s hand in any future peace talks with Russia by sending it more weapons.
Consensus among all NATO countries is required for admitting new members.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has recently suggested that extending alliance membership to territory now under Kyiv’s control could end “the hot stage” of the almost three-year war.
But Szijjártó on Wednesday voiced skepticism over increased Western support being able to influence the conflict in Ukraine's favor.
“In spite of the arms shipments pouring there, Ukraine’s situation on the battlefield gets worse every day,” he said. “If someone talks about the improvement of the situation of the Ukrainians as an easily achievable goal on the battlefield, they do nothing but deceive themselves and the Ukrainians as well.”
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto waits for the start of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
FILE - In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, shakes hands with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto on the sidelines of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Ministerial Council meeting, in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
The European Union on Wednesday condemned the Taliban for violating human rights and women's access to education after media reports that the Taliban's leader has ordered private and public institutions to stop providing medical courses for women and girls in Afghanistan.
The Taliban have neither confirmed the order nor responded to the reports. The Public Health Ministry spokesman was unavailable for comment.
In September 2021, a month after they returned to power, the Taliban stopped schooling for girls after grade six. They banned women from university in December 2022.
Medical education, like nursing and midwifery, was one of the few ways they could continue their learning in classrooms.
The BBC and others reported that five institutions across Afghanistan said the Taliban had instructed them to close until further notice, and women training as midwives and nurses were ordered not to return to classes Wednesday.
The EU said the Taliban’s latest reported decision represented another appalling violation of fundamental human rights and an unjustifiable attack on women’s access to education in Afghanistan.
“The European Union expresses its strong concerns over this decision and its far-reaching implication, including the deepening of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the exacerbation of the suffering of its people,” the statement said.
It urged the Taliban to reverse the policy.
A spokesperson for the World Health Organization said the U.N. in Afghanistan was working to verify the claims with relevant officials.
“This development raises serious concerns about the sustainability and appeal of formal education for female health workers,” said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris. “Such measures could have far-reaching implications for the future availability of qualified female health professionals and the continuity of health service delivery in the country.”
A starker warning came from a senior health official in Afghanistan. He did not give his name for fear of reprisals from the Taliban.
He said that Afghanistan would face major challenges beyond the control of the government if the suspension became permanent.
“If women are not trained as staff, the mortality rate of mothers and children will increase in remote areas," he said. "There will not be enough staff to provide services to female patients. Those NGOs that provide services in distant provinces and districts are still facing a shortage of doctors, midwives, nurses and other female staff.”
A 22-year-old midwifery student learned Wednesday that the institute was stopping classes for her and her friends. She had already switched from a law degree after the Taliban stopped university for women and expressed her shock and disbelief at the latest decision.
“After an hour, when I calmed down a little, I cried a lot because we had this one way (to study) and it is also closed,” she said. “It’s a difficult situation to have so many dreams in the field of education. But, in a second, all the dreams are crushed. This is the second time I have faced such a situation.”
Another young woman said she had set out to be a pilot in the armed forces, an ambition that ended after the Taliban's return to power.
So she started studying midwifery because of women's health issues, especially Afghanistan's high maternal mortality rates. She wanted to work in a hospital. On Wednesday, before the first exam of the semester, the institute told female students they could not return.
“It was the most difficult moment of my life when I heard this. It still is. They killed my hopes.”
Both women spoke anonymously for fear of reprisal. Public dissent against Taliban rule is rare.
FILE -Afghan girls hold illegal protest to demand the right to education in a private home in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
FILE -FILE - Afghan school girls attend their classroom on the first day of the new school year, in Kabul, Saturday, March 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File, File)
FILE -An Afghan woman is checked by a nutritionist at a clinic run by the WFP, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
FILE -Afghan refugees pass by an outdoor girls classroom in Torkham, Afghanistan, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
