It is not the war that Hungary supports but peace; and as a committed NATO ally, we are doing everything to strengthen our country and through that, the Alliance, emphasized the defence minister of Hungary at the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence in Brussels.
Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that the Alliance must carry on with its work: it needs more strength, capabilities and investments so that we can reach the goals set in defence plans. It requires not only national armed forces development but also the strengthening of defence industry.
He pointed out that Hungary is a recognized ally in the fields of deterrence and defence; the country lives up to its NATO commitments and plays an active role in strengthening the Eastern Flank. The proportion of defence expenditures in Hungary has already reached the two percent threshold of GDP last year. As for resources dedicated to the development of our armed forces, we are demonstrating the second best performance in the entire Alliance, he highlighted. Hungary is leading the NATO Multinational Battlegroup in our country and, together with Slovakia and Croatia, a command has also been established in Székesfehérvár to lead NATO operations in our narrower region.
The support for Ukraine was also mentioned at the meeting. The minister emphasized that related to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the position of the Government of Hungary remains unchanged: “we support each realistic initiative that leads to peace in Ukraine. However, we are concerned that with the victory plan of Zelensky it is not possible to win, it can only lead to defeat. Hungary thinks that only genuine initiatives and dialogue can lead to peace”, highlighted the minister.
Press release by the Ministry of Defence
NATO photo