PM Orbán and NATO’s Rutte: Hungarian jets to guard Baltic airspace and strengthen defence
Hungary is a “loyal and reliable” NATO ally that contributes significantly to the development of the alliance’s defence capacities, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in Brussels on Monday, adding that this was crucial in the current “new era of world politics”.
It is important that “in the completely new geopolitical reality” NATO return to its original goals of being the world’s strongest defence alliance, Szijjarto said after a working breakfast with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, according to a ministry statement. “This defence alliance needs to strengthen its defence capabilities,” Szijjártó said. “And as a loyal and reliable ally, Hungary contributes significantly to the development of NATO’s defence capacities.” He noted that 2025 will be the third consecutive year in which Hungary spends more than 2 percent of its GDP on defence. “And it should be noted that this isn’t something that’s totally obvious, as there are still eight member states — so a quarter of our allies — that haven’t been able to reach this 2 percent level,” he said.
Hungary, he said, was a NATO frontrunner in terms of defence developments, noting that close to half of its defence budget went towards this goal, putting it in second place in the alliance behind Poland.
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Meanwhile, Szijjártó said the NATO multinational division center in Hungary aimed at bolstering the alliance’s eastern flank would achieve full operational capability next week. Also, the number of Hungarian troops participating in NATO missions worldwide now exceeds 1,000. The minister also announced that the Hungarian government has again agreed to participate in the policing of Baltic airspace.
“This means that the Hungarian Air Force will again be deployed to Lithuania for four months with 80-90 troops, two fighters and one spare, where we will take part in the policing of Baltic airspace from the summer months until the end of the autumn,” he said.
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