Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky: We are going to put Moldovan–Hungarian defence cooperation on a new basis

The minister emphasized that Hungary supports Moldova’s efforts toward European and Euro-Atlantic integration. According to our position, the accession process should be merit-based, one which is based on concrete reforms, measurable results and lasting commitment to European values.

He added that Hungary does not agree with any kind of enlargement that is enforced on a political or ideological basis, and it would consider Ukraine’s admission a case in point. The minister pointed out that Hungary rejects the pressure from Brussels which intends to connect Ukraine’s case with the accession efforts and results of other countries and so adopt “packages of decisions” without a professional and performance-based basis. Hungary will not assist with any political compromises: each aspiring candidate should be judged independently, based on its own performance, and no country’s progress should be used as a means of blackmail in the interest of another one.

At the meeting, the two sides reviewed the regional security situation. Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky pointed out that Europe needs true cooperation and solidarity in the current unpredictable environment. Hungary sets an example in this regard, as it stood by Moldova even in the gravest period of its energy crisis, while these days Hungary is still waiting in vain for the necessary support from the European Commission in the case of Ukrainian attacks against Hungarian energy supply.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky emphasized that Hungary intends to contribute to increasing Moldova’s stability also through the exchange of military lessons learned and the strengthening of practical cooperation. As part of it, the ministers have renewed the bilateral Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in 1997, which provides a framework for conducting training and education, joint exercises as well as official visits and professional programs between the Hungarian Defence Forces and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova.

During the visit, the two ministers inaugurated a monument erected in Miskolc in eternal memory of the soldiers and civilian victims originating from today’s area of Moldova who had fallen in WWI and WWII in the Hungarian theatre of war, and at once in honor of the victims of joint historical turns of fate.

Press release of the Ministry of Defence