BUDAPEST, July 16. /TASS/. The West belligerent rhetoric around the Ukrainian conflict is gradually changing thanks to the peaceful position of the minority who are calling for a ceasefire and talks, Hungarian Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said on Sunday.
Recalling the July 11-12 NATO summit in Vilnius, where he represented Hungary along with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, he noted that many leaders, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, continue to use bellicose rhetoric when speaking about the Ukrainian crisis. "On the contrary, we urge for an immediate ceasefire and the soonest peace talks. This is the position of the minority but in this respect general moods are changing," he said in an interview with the Kossuth radio station.
At the same time, Szalay-Bobrovniczky noted that "Hungary’s position coincides with NATO’s position in a sense that NATO must not be dragged into this war." He noted that as an alliance NATO is not supplying weapons to Ukraine, it is being done by individual countries on a bilateral basis. "Neither Hungary nor NATO want any escalation" of hostilities in Ukraine, he added.
When asked about Ukraine’s NATO-wards aspirations, he reiterated his country’s position on this matter. "Ukraine was not invited to the alliance at the NATO summit, since the country is not ready for this and the situation is not right. Ukraine’s sovereignty has been jeopardized partly because it is in a state of war. Its accession [to NATO] would drag the entire alliance into the war," the Hungarian defense minister explained.