The foreign minister has underlined how five nations to date have indicated their intention to join the Hungarian battalion battle group.
Following the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, Péter Szijjártó said Hungary continues to give priority to “not being dragged” into the war in its neighborhood, adding that from this point of view the summit’s results met Hungary’s expectations and dovetailed with its national interests. Minister Szijjártó called it a major achievement that NATO had reinforced its position that it is not, and does not wish to become, a belligerent party in the conflict. “Every possible effort should be made to prevent the war from escalating and spilling beyond the borders of Ukraine,” he said.
Minister Szijjártó said NATO had decided to set up eight battalion battle groups on its eastern and southeastern flank to beef up its military presence in the region. The Hungarian battle group already established has been operating within NATO’s framework under Hungarian command, he said. The battle group is open to troops of other NATO member states, Minister Szijjártó said, adding that five countries — the United States, Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro and Italy — had indicated their intention to delegate hundreds of soldiers to the unit. The troops concerned will be stationed west of the Danube and involved in joint training and exercises, he said.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter