Hungary to allow NATO aid to flow to Ukraine

Hungary has agreed not to block NATO military aid to Ukraine, but it will not help either, the military alliance’s chief says.

After meetings with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Budapest on Wednesday that he “accepts” the position of the Central European country not to participate in NATO efforts for Ukraine.

Orban, seen as the closest of any EU leader to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has persistently obstructed the bloc’s efforts to supply Kyiv with arms and financing.

“No Hungarian personnel will take part in these activities and no Hungarian funds will be used to support them,” Stoltenberg said.

“At the same time, the prime minister has assured me that Hungary will not oppose these efforts, enabling other allies to move forward, and he has confirmed that Hungary will continue to meet its NATO commitments in full,” he added.

The NATO chief said he and Orban had “agreed modalities for Hungary’s nonparticipation in NATO’s support for Ukraine” but did not provide details.

Consensus

This year, Stoltenberg announced that NATO is seeking to guarantee long-term weapon deliveries to Kyiv and establish a 100-billion-euro ($108bn) fund to pay for them.

The alliance hopes to seal an agreement on the proposals at a summit next month, and NATO decisions require consensus among its 32 members.

Western governments have been unhappy with some of Hungary’s positions since the start of the war in Ukraine, including a refusal to join some European Union sanctions against Russia or send arms shipments to Ukraine.