Hungary will not participate in NATO's long-term aid plan of Ukraine. This was announced by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó today, calling the plan a "crazy mission", Reuters reported.
The NATO allies agreed in April to begin planning long-term military support for Ukraine against a Russian invasion by creating a fund worth 100 billion euros. Under the plans, NATO will take over some of the coordination work from a US-led coalition known as the Ramstein Group.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó reiterated the government's earlier opposition to the plan.
Hungary will stay away despite pressure, the foreign minister has insisted, reiterating the government's position at a Facebook Live event in London.
Zoltan Kovacs, a government spokesman, said in a post on X social media that Hungary would not support any NATO proposals that "could bring the alliance closer to war or move it from a defensive to an offensive coalition" .
US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman said NATO allies are warning Hungary about the dangers of its "close and expanding" relations with Russia. If this is Budapest's political choice, "we will have to decide how best to protect our security interests," he added.
We recall that relations between Budapest and NATO deteriorated due to Hungary's delay in ratifying Sweden's accession to NATO, which Budapest accepted only in February. Another factor is nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's relationship with Moscow, despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In addition, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to arrive in Hungary today, with the aim of improving economic relations. "Hungary believes that it is not worth setting ideological borders," says Gergely Gulyas, head of the Hungarian Prime Minister's office. China continues to support Russia, and yesterday they expressed support for peace talks on Ukraine with the participation of both countries.