Hungary redefines nato role, opposes aid and missions abroad
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview with public Radio Kossuth that we need to redefine Hungary's role in NATO. He emphasized that his country does not want to participate in missions outside the Alliance's territory and opposed Budapest's involvement in financial and military aid to Ukraine.
8:07 AM EDT, May 24, 2024
"We are working on how we can function as a member of NATO without participating in Alliance activities outside its territory," said Orban. He added that Hungary participates in the work of committees dealing with war planning but does not want to participate in financial or military aid to Ukraine.
"A new term has been coined to describe the Hungarian position: 'non-participation.' So we are now a non-participating state," declared Orban. In his view, Hungary is the country that adheres the most to the "basic philosophy" of the Alliance among all NATO states.
Orban criticizes Western aid to Ukraine
The Orban government, which has long criticized the West's provision of military aid to Kyiv, blocked EU financial aid to Ukraine, amounting to 54 billion dollars until the beginning of February. Budapest also opposes Ukraine's integration with NATO and the EU, opposing – without formally blocking – the commencement of accession negotiations between Brussels and Kyiv.
Recently, Hungary has also opposed strengthening NATO's coordinating role in the transfer of weapons to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian soldiers.
"NATO's proposal in this matter is crossing the 'red lines' that the Alliance itself set at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war," assessed Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in an interview with the Index portal, calling the plans to help Ukraine a "crazy mission."
