‘We condemn all forms of terrorism in the strongest possible terms, we recognise Israel’s right to self-defence and we express our sincere sympathy to the government and people of Israel in the face of this new grave threat,’ the MFAT statement said in reaction to the recent terrorist attacks on Israel.
Alexandra Szentkirályi reiterated that Hungary still does not and will not ship weapons to Ukraine nor will it allow other countries to ship weapons through its territory.
Hungary has always been on the side of peace, but the country needs strength and preparation for its defence, and it must participate in peace-supporting operations within the framework of alliances.
An Israeli expert, who requested anonymity, told Hungarian Conservative that there is no doubt
foreign NGOs involved in the protests are funded not only by private individuals but by European governments, such as Germany, too. But it is impossible to prove that the financing coming from foreign governments is used specifically to support the anti-government protests.
The Orbán administration has committed to spending at least two per cent of the country’s GDP on defence by the end of 2024, a commitment made in 2014 by all NATO members but something many NATO countries have not yet honoured. Hungary, in fact, is set to achieve the two per cent threshold by the end of this year, before the deadline.
Ukraine’s hunger for ammunition is almost impossible to meet, while NATO is running low on stocks. Hungary, meanwhile, is strengthening its own military.
In his regular Friday morning interview on public radio, the Prime Minister said that he believes this is the closest the world has ever been ‘to a localised war turning into a world war’.
According to recently released data, approximately two million Ukrainian refugees have fled to Hungary since the Russian aggression.
‘Force transformation is a never-ending task, we have to continuously adapt to the changing environment and be at the forefront of preparing for the future,’ the Hungarian Ministry of Defence highlighted.
‘Hungary and Austria are good neighbours and maintain very close cooperation in almost all areas, including the field of the military and defence,’ the Hungarian Minister of Defence underlined after meeting with his Austrian counterpart in Budapest.