Orban: Hungary not part of NATO operations to help Ukraine
Hungary will seek not to take part in NATO operations aimed at supporting Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday, suggesting the military alliance and the European Union are moving towards a more direct conflict with Russia.
Orban told state radio that Hungary is opposed to a plan being considered by NATO to provide more sustained military support to Ukraine in the coming years to counter a frontal attack by Moscow, while better-equipped Russian forces are try to dominate the battlefield.
We do not approve of this, nor do we want to be a part of the financial support or arms (for Ukraine), even in the framework of NATO,” said Mr. Orban, adding that Hungary has positioned itself as a “non-participant” in future operations. of NATO to help Kiev.
“We have to redefine our position within the alliance and our lawyers and officers are working on that… how Hungary can exist as a member of NATO, but not participating in NATO activity outside its territory,” he said.
Prime Minister Orban, considered the closest EU partner of Russian President Vladimir Putin, emphasized NATO’s role as a defense organization and said he did not share the same concerns as some Central and Eastern European countries that the Russian military would not to stop its aggression even if it won the war in Ukraine.
“NATO’s power cannot be compared to that of Ukraine,” he said. “I don’t consider it a logical proposition that Russia, which is barely dealing with Ukraine, will suddenly come and swallow the entire Western world.”
Hungary has refused to help Ukraine with military aid, unlike most other EU countries, and Mr Orban has strongly opposed the union’s sanctions on Moscow, although he has always voted to approve them in the end.
The nationalist leader is preparing for the European Parliament elections to be held on June 6-9 and presents his party as a guarantor of peace in the region. He has characterized the United States and the EU countries that seek greater support for Ukraine as “pro-war” countries that are preparing a global conflict./VOA/
