The Hungarian Prime Minister, the ultra-conservative Viktor Orbán, has pledged not to block NATO support for Ukraine. In a meeting with the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, this Wednesday in Budapest, the two leaders agreed that Hungary will exercise its right to stay out of any aid program for kyiv, whether in the form of financing, military support or training, but will not veto the decisions of the rest of the partners. Stoltenberg has cleared one of the great obstacles to unity at the summit that the allies will hold between July 9 and 11 in Washington.
In an appearance after the meeting between both leaders, Orbán declared: “Hungary has made it clear today that it will not block NATO decisions that, although they differ from our rational assessment of the situation, are shared and defended by the rest of the Alliance. ”. The prime minister has stated that he has received guarantees from Stoltenberg that Hungary will not have to provide funds to Ukraine or send personnel to that country, according to statements reported by Reuters.
“What the prime minister and I have agreed today is that Hungary will not block other allies from agreeing on a commitment to financial support for Ukraine and a leading role for NATO in coordinating assistance,” said Stoltenberg, who trusted that the allies can close an agreement in Washington. On the table is an annual financial aid package of 40 billion euros for Ukraine, which is at a critical moment due to Russian advances on the front. Several partners have given kyiv permission to use long-range munitions against targets on Russian territory. Some members, such as France, have also opened the debate on the possibility of sending instructors to the field.
Orbán maintains a fluid relationship with the Kremlin despite the invasion of Ukraine. The ultra-conservative leader has systematically made it difficult to make decisions in support of kyiv within NATO and the EU, where he has assiduously used his veto power, to the frustration of the rest of the partners. Since the beginning of the Russian aggression, Hungary has been on the sidelines of actions such as sending weapons to Ukraine, with whom it shares a problematic bond due to the treatment of the Hungarian minority in the Ukrainian region of Transcarpathia.
The growing anger and mistrust among Alliance members was evident again this week at the meeting of the Bucharest Nine, a group made up of NATO’s eastern partners – Poland, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. Budapest did not participate in the meeting held this Tuesday in Riga. The countries that largely made up the Warsaw Pact, the staunchest defenders of a firm response to Russia for historical and geographical reasons, have debated the possibility of excluding Hungary from the club, as published by Financial Times.
The Government of Hungary defends a supposed peace in Ukraine that other partners consider a capitulation to Russia. For last Sunday’s elections, Fidesz, Orbán’s party – which had the worst result in its history in the European elections – focused its campaign on that message, arguing that the West is dragging the world towards a world war. “We are centimeters away,” said the prime minister, who presents himself as the only possible guarantor of peace.
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