In times of war, the security of the country and the Hungarian people comes before anything else

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky stated that as minister of defence, for him the security of the country always comes first, but it makes a difference whether one states and guarantees it in times of peace or in times of war, said he, adding that we are now living in times of war.

He said that as minister of defence, he had been tasked with guaranteeing the security of Hungarian people in times of war as well, increasing the country’s defence capabilities and strengthening the Hungarian Defence Forces. The government is providing all financial support to achieve these goals, he emphasized.

The minister went on stating that Hungary’s Defence Fund is being reinforced, noting that HUF 842 billion has been earmarked for the fund in this year’s budget. Next year, already HUF1310 billion would be allocated for the fund to ensure that Hungary’s defence capabilities continue to increase, the development of the armed forces go ahead, new weapons systems arrive and enter service in Hungary, the related training tasks are carried out, and the Hungarian armed forces continuously maintain their combat readiness and training level to be able to guarantee the security of Hungarian people.

In 2024, too, Hungary’s defence spending is set to exceed NATO’s 2% GDP target, added the minister.

The Russo-Ukrainian War has been going on for one and a half years now, and the peace and security that were earlier taken for granted are already fragile. Very large forces, great powers have moved in the interest of the war and are doing all they can to “draw us into the war”. “But we firmly hold our position, and will not allow the security of the Hungarian people to be endangered and the country plunged into war”, the minister added.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky expressed hope for a ceasefire and the start of peace talks as soon as possible. “Peace requires strength, we carry on with the work”, underlined the minister.