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Hungary rethinking role in NATO, PM says

Viktor Orban underlined that Budapest had no plans to participate in NATO’s actions that could drag member states into the conflict in Ukraine and lead to a direct confrontation with Russia

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban AP Photo/Darko Bandic

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

© AP Photo/Darko Bandic

BUDAPEST, May 24. /TASS/. Still unwilling to take part in NATO’s military mission in Ukraine, Budapest is reassessing its role in the organization, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told the Kossuth radio station.

He confirmed that Hungary had no plans to participate in NATO actions that could drag member states into the conflict in Ukraine and lead to a direct confrontation with Russia. According to Orban, Brussels is making military plans with "task forces working on ways for NATO to take part in this war."

"Hungary is opposed to this. The government is working intensively to figure out how to avoid participating in the war while remaining a NATO member," Orban said, adding that Brussels was aware of this and was even calling Hungary a "non-participant."

The head of government acknowledged that Hungary’s stance may appear unusual, given its intention to stay in NATO. "There aren’t many situations in NATO’s history where member states openly took a distinct stance like Hungary is now doing. Therefore, its role in the military alliance needs to be reassessed. Our lawyers and military are currently working on this. The issue should be resolved by Hungarian diplomacy," Orban stated.

Meanwhile, he reiterated that Hungary did not plan to take part in any potential NATO operations in Ukraine. The country will neither allocate funds, nor send weapons to the country, nor allow its territory to be used to store weapons meant for the Ukrainian army. The premier explained that this position was grounded in the belief that it was impossible to settle the conflict in Ukraine militarily as there could be no winner, and a solution should be found through peace talks.

In addition, Orban pointed out that NATO was a defensive alliance that no one had attacked yet. The conflict in Ukraine concerns only Kiev and Moscow, the Hungarian prime minister said. That is why, in his words, the talk about "the Russian threat" should be taken as "a maneuver by the West and Europe to pave the way for them to enter the war."

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