The Hungarian government has weighed in on the Ukraine crisis, vowing that it will stand by NATO but resist efforts by “the Left” to “drag” the country into war.
“Hungary’s standpoint is clear, we stand by Ukraine, we stand by Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Today, and in the future, Hungary will be part of NATO decisions aimed at a joint response,” insisted Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian minister for foreign affairs, in a statement shared on social media by government spokesman Zoltán Kovács.
Szijjártó added, however, that despite his government’s deep concern for Ukraine, “war is not a solution” to the crisis.
“Hungary must stay out of an armed conflict. The [Hungarian] left-wing’s proposal to send [Hungarian] soldiers and weapons to Ukraine is therefore hugely irresponsible. We must not let the Left drag Hungary into this war!” he declared.
The foreign minister was echoing a similar statement by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, publicised in English shortly before Russia’s Vladimir Putin launched his so-called “special military operation… to de-militarise and de-Nazify Ukraine”.
“Hungary must stay out of this conflict, this military conflict, because Hungary’s security is the most important interest,” Prime Minister Orbán had said.
“Accordingly, there can be no question of accepting left-wing proposals to send soldiers and weapons to Ukraine,” he continued, adding that Hungary would “play its part in the international efforts to restore peace” and that the army and police would in the meantime be preparing to deal with a potential influx of refugees.
Hungary’s stance on Ukraine marks a rare point of difference with Poland, its closest ally in the Visegrád Group of European Union member-states.
While the Hungarian government has dealt with Russia on what it sees as a pragmatic basis, recently negotiating a gas deal with President Putin to keep Hungarian energy bills among the lowest in Europe, Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki responded to the Ukrainian attack by demanding the EU impose “the fiercest possible sanctions” on Moscow, warning that “Europe and the free world [have] to stop Putin.”
While both Hungary and Poland suffered under the yoke of the Russian-dominated Soviet Union during the Cold War, the Polish government’s more belligerent posture is believed by many to be due to the fact that the leader of the country’s governing Law and Justice Party, Jarosław Kaczyński, suspects the Kremlin was complicit in the Smolensk air disaster of 2010, in which the late President Lech Kaczyński — his twin brother — was killed.
Hungary’s attitude towards conflict in Ukraine may also be coloured by the fact that its relations with the Ukrainian government are somewhat fractious due to the perceived mistreatment of the Hungarian minority in the country.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.