Hungary deems it necessary to reaffirm that peace is paramount and opposes NATO involvement in the war in Ukraine, Hungarian President Katalin Novák said at a joint press conference in Lisbon with her Portuguese counterpart on Thursday.
“We must reaffirm that peace is of the utmost importance and we do not want NATO to become involved in wars. And yet demonstrate capability and unity and show that our Alliance is stronger than ever. NATO as a defensive alliance, ready to every inch of its territory. But the commitment to peace is our priority”said the Hungarian head of state during a two-day official visit to Portugal, which was received by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the Belém Palace.
At the joint press conference, during a Q&A period, Katalin Novák referred to her recent visit to the Polish capital Warsaw, where she took part in a meeting of the so-called Bucharest 9 Group, which brings together countries from Eastern Europe that are members of NATO, including the presence of the President of the United States, Joe Biden.
“It was a frank conversation, with bilateral meetings,” the president referred to the “unbreakable Hungarian-Polish friendship” and clarified that due to a very busy day, he only had an exchange of views with Biden with the White House leader who just held a bilateral meeting “with the hosts”. The meeting, which also included NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, was hosted by the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and brought together leaders from the other eight countries that make up the group: Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia , Lithuania and Slovakia.
Referring to recent speeches by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the prospects of an end to the conflict, the Hungarian head of state acknowledged “not being able to give much hope (…) because there are no prospects”. of short-term negotiations, and with the war “ongoing” for the next few months. ‘Everything must be aimed at getting the parties to the negotiating table’, he emphasized. A theme that Katalin Novák had already addressed in her opening speech, when she condemned “the aggression” and defended “the territorial integrity of Ukraine”.
Katalin Novák defended the need for a ceasefire, for a just peace, but with a very specific reference to the situation of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, an idea that the Portuguese president had already underlined in his previous speech. “Portugal and Hungary are part of different geographical conditions (…). There are 150 thousand Hungarians in Transcarpathia, on Ukrainian territory, it is very important to support them in defending their rights. Hungarian blood must be shedsaid the Hungarian leader.
After inviting Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to visit Hungary in 2024, as part of the 50th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Lisbon and Budapest, Katalin Novák noted that she was a “mother of three children” and praised she defends life and family, in a reference to the Portuguese head of state’s previous intervention on Europe’s demographic decline, with Portugal ranked second worst after Italy. “Young people must take responsibility for having children. There is a shortage of children. In Hungary, the number of marriages has doubled and the number of divorces has decreased”he pointed it out.
The theme of war and conflict then returned in his speech, underlining the necessary defense capacity of countries and the strengthening of armies. In this respect, despite somewhat evasive statements, he praised the Portuguese example. “We see a very good example here in Portugal in terms of volunteering and reserves. Here they have a reserve army of 200,000 people. We want to follow that example. We want to strengthen this part of our armed forces. There is no military service.” also mandatory in Hungary, let’s start a campaign”he said.
Regarding the process of ratifying Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO, Katalin Novák confirmed that the Hungarian parliament will meet next week “and will be one of the first issues to be dealt with”. He also pledged, and within the scope of his limited protocol powers, to “intend to help make it a speedy process.” Hungary and Turkey are the only two NATO member states that have yet to ratify membership.
In an allusion to the recent statements by senior Chinese officials and to the important diplomatic contacts between Beijing and Moscow, Katalin Novák only wished that China would not intervene “militarily” in the conflict, opting in the final stages of media questions to go into detail about the state of relations with Brussels. Funds sent to Hungary under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) remain blocked by the European Commission due to a long-standing dispute with Budapest.
In this regard, the Hungarian President reiterated the recurring speech of the Hungarian government and its Nationalist Prime Minister, Vikor Orbán, in which they denounced the “unfair treatment” despite the continuation of the dialogue to ensure the conditions that would allow “a free path and the return of sanity”.
Katalin Novák also recalled that the economic and environmental consequences of the war in Ukraine are serious and that these problems need to be addressed urgently. “The sooner the funds come, the sooner we will overcome these problems” assured.
The Hungarian president was decorated by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa with the necklace of Infante D. Henrique. On her agenda in Portugal, Katalin Novák has planned several visits, including to the Assembly of the Republic and to the City Council of Lisbon.
Source: DN
