Hungary will not support Ukraine’s integration into the European Union or NATO until the rights of the Hungarian national community are restored, said Tamás Menczer, state secretary for bilateral relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told the M1 news channel on Wednesday.
Menczer stressed that Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO is being opposed due to the erosion of Hungarian minority rights in relation to education, culture, and the use of the Hungarian language since 2015.
Hungary’s position remains unchanged, and the integration process requires a unanimous position, whether in the EU or NATO, the minister reminded viewers.
He also expressed the importance of avoiding further conflict between Russia, a nuclear power, and NATO, the world’s strongest military alliance. This would be tantamount to World War III, which must be avoided at all costs.
The minister highlighted that, in the event of a third world war and nuclear escalation, not only would there be losers, but there would also be no winners, as human civilization as we know it would end.
He also discussed Hungarian defense, confirming that Hungary would reach the 2 percent of GDP target set by NATO for defense spending a year earlier than planned. “This is true for only nine NATO member states, which shows how reliable Hungary is as a military ally,” he added.
The state secretary was also asked about Finland joining the European Commission’s case against Hungary’s child protection law in the European Court of Justice. He replied by saying that “the Hungarian position on Finland and Sweden is that we want to continue building bilateral relations on the basis of mutual respect, and this is a fundamental condition for Hungarian support in the process of NATO accession.”
