Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said NATO’s position on the war in Ukraine coincides with Hungary’s national interest, according to which every effort must be made to prevent the conflict from spreading beyond the borders of Ukraine.
After meeting soldiers arriving for a military exercise at a training base in Hajdúhadház, in eastern Hungary, the defense minister said soldiers in the region had the dual task of carrying out humanitarian activities while also protecting the borders of Hungary. Hungary, as a NATO member, can rely on its allies in fulfilling these tasks, he said. Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that there were domestic and international exercises, joint training and preparation events and tasks each year which involved soldiers from NATO member countries arriving in Hungary. Protecting the security of Hungarians is a priority for the government, and the Hungarian and US soldiers carrying out joint patrols under the arrangements of NATO also serve this purpose, he said, noting that Hungarian and US soldiers serve together in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Photo credit: MTI