Of the 32 countries in the Alliance, only Hungary has now openly opposed NATO's direct role in military support for Ukraine, Voice of America reports, UNN writes.
Details
"Despite the fact that many NATO members support an increased coordination role in military assistance, Hungary has made it clear that it will not be involved in the planning and implementation of the relevant tasks and will not provide financial support for such activities," said Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs.
Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has declared that it does not want to help Ukrainians defend themselves against Russian aggression.
Hungary's Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who participated in the April 3-4 meetings in Brussels, defiantly noted that the North Atlantic Alliance should be a defensive organization and said that NATO's involvement in Ukraine's defense would "bring NATO closer to war.
"Since the majority of member states, I can say 31 of them, have agreed to increase NATO's coordination role in these two areas... the planning work will now begin," Minister Szijjarto was quoted as saying by The Budapest Times.
"We will not participate in further tasks, and we will not provide financial support," said Peter Sijjarto.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that he had spoken to Prime Minister Orban about his proposal by phone before the Brussels meetings and said the conversation was constructive.
Hungary, the publication reminds, was also the only EU country that did not support the multi-year EU aid program for Ukraine worth 50 billion euros, but the EU approved the program on February 1, 2024, without the participation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Recall
As reported, NATO allies agreed on March 3 to begin planning for long-term military support for Ukraine, but NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's proposal to create a five-year, 100 billion-euro fund has drawn mixed reactions.