Hungary will not be obliged to participate in military actions outside its territory or send money or troops to Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after he met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Budapest on Wednesday, 12 June, ahead of the treaty organisation’s Washington Summit next month.
Stoltenberg said NATO accepts Hungary’s non-participation in military or financial efforts towards supporting Ukraine, but that it would not block NATO’s efforts, after talks with Orban. He acknowledged Hungary’s leadership of a NATO multinational battlegroup; its hosting of military headquarters and its contributions to the KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
“Prime Minister Orban has made it clear that Hungary will not participate in these NATO efforts and I accept this position,” Stoltenberg said. “At the same time, the prime minister has assured me that Hungary will not oppose these efforts, enabling other Allies to move forward, and he has confirmed that Hungary will continue to meet all of its NATO commitments in full,” he added.
Orban called Hungary a “loyal and committed member” of the defence alliance, noting that it currently has 1,300 troops participating in NATO missions, adding that its defence spending exceeds 2% of GDP. He said Hungary would not block NATO decisions “which could differ from the rational decisions based on our assessment of the situation, but which other member states share and support”.
The NATO chief said he expects agreement on a leading NATO role in coordinating and providing security assistance and training for Ukraine, as well as a long-term financial promise for military support, at the alliance treaty’s summit in Washington DC in July.
A total of three US soldiers were found dead while a fourth remains missing after…
The US and Russia are discussing the potential reopening of the Nord Stream 2 gas…
Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik announced that he had arrived in Moscow on Monday…
Startups in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are growing faster than in Western Europe and…
Romania and Poland have gender pay disparities among the lowest in the EU, according to…
European leaders met in Brussels on 20 March to confront a mounting policy dilemma: how…