BUDAPEST — Hungary will try to stay out of any NATO operations aimed at supporting Ukraine, its Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday, suggesting that The military alliance and the European Union could be heading towards a more direct conflict with Russia.
Speaking to Hungarian state radio, Orbán said the country opposes the plan being considered by NATO to provide more predictable military support to kyiv in the coming years to confront Moscow’s large-scale invasion, as Russian troops , better armed, reaffirm their control on the battlefield.
“We do not approve, nor do we want to participate in financial or arms support (to Ukraine), not even within the framework of NATO,” said the president, adding that Budapest has assumed a “non-participant” position in any possible action of the entity to attend kyiv.
“We have to redefine our position within the military Alliance, and our lawyers and officials are working on how Hungary can exist as a NATO member without participating in NATO actions outside its territory,” he added.
Orbán, who is considered the closest partner to Russian President Vladimir Putin within the EU, emphasized NATO’s role as a defensive alliance, and stated that he does not share the concern of other countries in the center and west of the continent. about the Kremlin not ceasing its aggression if it wins the war in Ukraine.
“NATO’s strength cannot be compared to that of Ukraine,” he said. “I do not consider it logical that Russia, which cannot even confront Ukraine, would suddenly come and swallow the entire Western world.”
Unlike most of its EU partners, Hungary has refused to provide military aid to neighboring Ukraine and Orbán has strongly opposed the bloc’s sanctions on Moscow, although he has always voted in favor of them.
Source: With information from AP
