Stoltenberg and Orban strike 'fair deal' over NATO missions in Ukraine
Hungary opposes NATO missions in Ukraine and refuses to assist in this effort. However, as Prime Minister Viktor Orban assured, official Budapest will not "put obstacles in the way."
Officially, Hungary has declined to participate in the North Atlantic Alliance's assistance programs for Ukraine, but it will not prevent other allies from providing support to Kyiv. This was stated by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg after talks in Budapest, according to Russian Interfax.
"Hungary will not participate in these NATO efforts. And I accept that position," he said.
Stoltenberg noted that allies are not obligated to partake in all Alliance programs without exception. The NATO Secretary-General added that Hungary thus will not be involved in financing military aid to Ukraine, nor will Hungarian soldiers take part in training Ukrainian service members. At the same time, Stoltenberg emphasized that Prime Minister Viktor Orban assured him that Hungary would not block other NATO members from participating in military programs for Ukraine.
For his part, Orban remarked that most NATO countries have a different viewpoint on the situation in Ukraine compared to Budapest, but Hungary has never been banned from expressing its thoughts on the matter. "This is a fair deal," Orban believes.
Furthermore, he assured that "Budapest has no intention of changing the positions of other NATO colleagues, nor does it intend to block NATO's intentions that may differ from Hungary's viewpoint."
As noted by Interfax-Ukraine, Stoltenberg shared his expectations for the upcoming summit in July. According to him, he anticipates that allies will approve NATO's leading role in coordinating and providing security assistance and training for Ukraine.
"I also expect allies to approve long-term funding to provide military support. This would give Ukraine the predictability and accountability it needs," the NATO Secretary-General said.
Earlier, media reports revealed how Hungary blocks military aid to Ukraine from the EU. According to journalists, the country is blocking three separate tranches of financing from the European Peace Facility amounting to 500 million euros each, intended to aid Ukraine.