The Hungarian Interest Prevailed

Hungary was assured in connection with the Russo-Ukrainian war that it would not have to participate in military actions outside the country’s territory and would not need to give money or troops for the war. Also, Hungary’s territory cannot be used to join the war, announced Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, following their discussion in Budapest on Wednesday.

Viktor Orbán said that Hungary is a loyal and committed member of NATO and recalled that 1300 Hungarian soldiers are participating in NATO operations.

He added that Hungary belongs to the few countries that fulfil all of their undertaken commitments: its defence spendings exceed two percent of the GDP and the country amply reaches the targeted 20 percent capability development goal.

Hungary also performs air space policing tasks in Slovakia and Slovenia and time after time, also in the Baltics. Besides, it is a NATO Contact Point Embassy (CPE) to important Central Asian and African countries. Viktor Orbán told us that Hungary can strengthen NATO with these commitments and will continue to fulfil these in the future.

The head of state praised Jens Stoltenberg, who he thinks has a high reputation in Hungary because during his office as secretary general, the cooperation between NATO and Hungary has been strengthened.

As for the Russo-Ukrainian war, he said that it is widely known that the viewpoint of Hungary differs from that of the majority of the NATO member states and he accepts that the weight and number of viewpoints different from his are considerable. Hungary had the opportunity to tell its viewpoint each time but it must admit that it has not enough capability and strength to change the many opinions different from its, he said.

The head of state said that at the Wednesday discussion, Hungary made it clear that it does not want to block any decisions of NATO shared and supported by other member states, even if these are different from the reasonable ones deriving from our interpretation of the situation.

He underlined that Hungary received the required assurance from Jens Stoltenberg that each military operation outside NATO’s territory can be only voluntary.

To the question of what guarantees that Hungary will not be forced into this war in the future, Viktor Orbán answered that there are two guarantees, the Hungarian government and the NATO Secretary General. Hungary was assured in connection with the Russo-Ukrainian war that it would not have to participate in military actions outside the country’s territory, would not need to give money or troops for the war and that Hungary’s territory could not be used to join the war.

Viktor Orbán declared that NATO documents make it clear that participation in any military operation outside NATO’s territory can be only voluntary. Hungary cannot and does not want to change the decision of the other 31 member states; while NATO acknowledges through the secretary general that Hungary wants to fully utilise its margin provided by the principles of the Alliance.

We received everything required to settle the current issues. We had a difficult but constructive discussion with the secretary general and eventually, we reached a fair agreement, underlined Viktor Orbán.

NATO accepts Hungary’s viewpoint that it does not want to contribute to the military and financial support operations in Ukraine but at the same time, it does not block these efforts of NATO, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the press conference.

He expects that at the July NATO summit meeting in Washington D.C., the Alliance will agree on NATO undertaking a leading role in security support to Ukraine and training coordination and promotion, declared the secretary general.

Jens Stoltenberg expressed his hope that at the summit, long-term financial commitments would be shown for military support because according to him, this would provide predictability and reliability to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, he indicated that the Hungarian prime minister made it clear that Hungary does not want to contribute to these efforts of NATO and he accepts this viewpoint.

He expressed his satisfaction over reaching an agreement with Viktor Orbán during their discussion on how Hungary can stay away from the support operations in Ukraine. He confirmed that Hungarian people will not participate in these activities and that Hungarian financial assets will not be used for these.

In answer to a question, Jens Stoltenberg underlined that it is not a NATO obligation to participate in each operation and activity, while the given member state fulfils the collective defence obligations defined in the Washington Treaty.

He also underlined that Viktor Orbán assured him that Hungary still fulfils all of its undertaken commitments. Jens Stoltenberg said that Hungary has always been a recognized NATO ally for the past 25 years. He also appreciated the statement of the Hungarian prime minister that Hungary remains a loyal and committed member of NATO.

The secretary general recalled that Hungary is leading a multinational NATO battlegroup, hosts important military commands, including HQ Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C), supports stability in the Western Balkans and participates in the KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo with soldiers. He also underlined that since the beginning of the brutal war of aggression of the Russians, Hungary has constantly given asylum to the Ukrainian refugees and helped the rehabilitation of the wounded soldiers. Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that these all contribute to the common security.