Hungarian Defense Minister Tibor Pinko announced after receiving British Defense Minister Ben Wallace that Hungary is committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). At the joint press conference, the head of the Hungarian Ministry said that the army was strong thanks to the force development program.
Tibor Benko described the discussion as effective.
He thanked his colleague for being able to evacuate 540 people from Afghanistan because UK soldiers handled the situation with flexibility. He said it could have saved many lives. The Hungarian minister also thanked his colleague for recognizing that Hungary has a strong army and “excellent NATO capabilities”.
Tibor Pinko said that they see the security situation in Europe the same way, they value the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the same way.
He also emphasized that the security of the Western Balkans was of paramount importance to Hungary.
The Hungarian minister described it as important to be able to strengthen military relations with the UK in the future. He noted that an agreement was reached in 2019 according to which joint training will take place.
Tibor Pinko put it this way: there must be a continuation of the current express visit, because there are many questions that await the two countries.
Ben Wallace stressed that Central Europe is important not only to the United Kingdom but also to NATO. The British minister said that if Russian aggression turns into an invasion of Ukraine, Hungary will also suffer greatly: energy and food prices will rise, and in addition to economic hardship, migration pressures will also threaten.
He added that they agreed on how to de-escalate the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, noting that the worst should be avoided. He noted that in the midst of the battle against the coronavirus epidemic, the intensification of the conflict would be a particular problem.
The British minister believed that the Hungarian army was strong, professional and of excellent leadership.
As he expressed it
The stability of the Western Balkans is very important.
Asked whether Prime Minister Viktor Orban would negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the current situation, Tibor Pinko said that the time was always right for negotiation. NATO also puts dialogue first, not deterrence, and armed struggle. He added that the trial should not be refused, but on the contrary, it is necessary, and it is natural for the Prime Minister to be responsible for the security of his country.
In response to the same question, Ben Wallace said he did not think it would be wrong to negotiate with Vladimir Putin at any time. Nobody wants prices to go up dramatically and waves of immigration to start.
Viktor Orban’s visit to Russia is a good opportunity to convey these messages
British minister said.
In response to another question, Tibor Pinko said that the Hungarian army has developed a lot since 2017, and its capabilities enable it to solve the tasks arising from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. He explained that at the moment, it is not necessary to deploy the armed forces of other countries in Hungary.
On a journalist’s suggestion, Ben Wallace stressed that they offered troops to NATO, not to a specific country. He said the North Atlantic Organization had to decide what to do with British units, where and when they would be deployed.
Tibor Pinko was a guest on the show Arena last week. the You can read the conversation hereor listen to it.
Opening photo: Zoltán MTI/Balogh
