PÉTER SZIJJÁRTÓ: IT IS ALSO THANKS TO HUNGARY THAT NATO IS THE STRONGEST MILITARY ALLIANCE IN THE WORLD

According to the ministry's communique, during his visit to the air base of the Lithuanian Air Force the head of the ministry said that the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is the most militarized area in Europe, and geographically speaking, the Baltic region is perhaps one of the most complicated regions to defend of the NATO regions.

The minister thanked the Hungarian service members for their steadfastness and composure, pointing out that in the current war situation this is the hardest and most complex assignment of the Hungarian Defence Forces today. He stated that the soldiers protect the security of NATO and thus also Hungary, moreover, they must act with extreme responsibility, since one of their most important objectives is to prevent a direct conflict between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russia.

"You have to guarantee our safety, sometimes even face to face with the Russian Air Force, without getting beyond the point where the spring will break," he said. As Mr Szijjártó emphasized "We want peace, but for now the military situation is not like that, what we see is that the war situation is deteriorating. Now the most important thing to do is to prevent the escalation of the conflict."

"There is no powerful country without a powerful national defence and without a strong air force within the army. Therefore, we would like to continue allocating as much resource as possible so that the Hungarian Defence Forces remains a powerful army within NATO, making us proud," he stated. The minister said that the Alliance is made up of its member states, therefore, "we are proud that we, Hungarians, can also contribute to the fact that it can be said that NATO is the strongest military alliance in the world".

"It is fair to say that without Hungary, without Hungary's army and air force, NATO would not be as strong," he said.

He announced that Hungarian soldiers may return to the Baltic region in one and a half or two years, because in the current situation, the importance and raison d'être of this mission will most likely be even more significant in the coming period.

Tamás Vargha, parliamentary state secretary and deputy minister of the Ministry of Defence, said the Hungarian soldiers serving in Lithuania play an important role in guaranteeing the security of our country and that of our allies.