Hungary Agrees Not to Block NATO Support for Ukraine Amidst Ongoing Tensions

Hungary will not obstruct NATO's decisions to support Ukraine but will refrain from involvement, as stated by Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a visit by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Hungary's close ties with Russia and reluctance to send arms have caused friction with other NATO members. Stoltenberg assured that Hungary would not need to provide funding or personnel for Ukraine.

Hungary will not block NATO decisions on providing support for Ukraine but has agreed that it will not be involved, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday during a visit to Budapest by the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Hungary has been at odds with other NATO countries over Orban's continued cultivation of close ties to Russia and refusal to send arms to Ukraine, with Budapest's foreign minister last month labelling plans to help the war-torn nation a "crazy mission". "Hungary made clear today that it will not block decisions by NATO which, although they differ from our rational assessment of the situation, are shared and advocated by the rest of the alliance," Orban told a news conference.

Orban said he had received assurances from Stoltenberg that Hungary would not have to provide funding for Ukraine or send personnel there. Western countries have debated the possibility of training troops in Ukraine, but NATO has stressed it does not want to become directly involved in the conflict.

Budapest has in the past frustrated allies by blocking aid to Ukraine, with tensions boiling over at a recent meeting of European Union foreign ministers. Stoltenberg's visit to Budapest came a day after a summit of leaders of eastern flank NATO states in the Latvian capital Riga. Hungary did not attend, in a sign of its differences with many of its neighbours over support for Ukraine.

The meeting formed part of the preparations for a NATO summit in Washington in July, at which members are due to agree on a 40 billion euro ($43 billion) annual support package for Ukraine. "What the prime minister and I have agreed today is that Hungary will not block other allies to agree a pledge for financial support for Ukraine and for a leading role for NATO in coordinating the support for Ukraine," Stoltenberg said.

"I am confident that when NATO leaders meet in Washington we will be able to finalise agreement on these issues." ($1 = 0.9302 euros)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)