Orbán’s request to Erdogan – Budapest Newspaper – 2024-07-11 16:48:10

NATO Summit

Written by Rainer Ackermann

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said ahead of the summit marking NATO’s anniversary in Washington: “We should preserve NATO as the defense alliance it was when it was founded 75 years ago.”

Immediately before the summit, Viktor Orbán asked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington on Wednesday to support the Hungarian peace mission. During their one-on-one meeting, the Hungarian recalled how successfully Turkey had brokered the Russian-Ukrainian grain agreement.

Prime Minister Orbán asked President Erdogan for support for the Hungarian peace mission.

Szijjártó: Unrealistic Perspective

The celebrations for NATO’s 75th anniversary are overshadowed by the unresolved conflict in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who is also in Washington, said: “It is clear to everyone that NATO membership for Ukraine is still not realistic because it would lead to a direct confrontation between the defense alliance and Russia.” This, however, creates a “huge contradiction” because people want to show Ukraine a NATO perspective. This contradiction can only be “resolved” if these people conceal their dilemma by beating around the bush. He is already looking forward to the linguistic bravura in the final declaration. They will surely once more be able to use meaningless phrases such as “Ukraine’s future is in NATO” or the “irreversible process”. In any case, Hungary demands unanimity in future decisions on the possible admission of Ukraine.

Foreign Ministers Péter Szijjártó and Dmitri Kuleba exchanged views on the Ukraine war and bilateral issues in Washington. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Who is a good member?

Szijjártó also addressed the shift in the debate regarding who is a good member of NATO. Until now, it was considered that those states that spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense, modernize their armed forces and actively participate in NATO missions are good members. Now it seems that the only thing that matters is who helps Ukraine and how much. “But Ukraine is not even a member, and NATO’s security does not depend on how strong Ukraine is, but on how strong we are,” Szijjártó countered to the mainstream media.

23 of the 32 member states currently meet the 2% requirement, Hungary now for the third year. If you scratch the surface a little, however, some countries have simply factored in the value of the weapons handed over to Ukraine, even if this does not contribute to increasing collective security. “Here, too, we are deluding ourselves, because the capabilities of the defense alliance are not strengthened by arms deliveries to Ukraine.”