We are interested in the establishment of peace as soon as possible, and everything must be done to ensure that the war does not escalate and that the V4 countries, the European Union and NATO do not drift into it - stated Minister of National Defense Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky in Selmecbány, Slovakia. at the meeting of defense ministers of the Visegrad countries.
At the meeting of the ministers of the V4 countries (Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland), the war in Ukraine, the current and future cooperation of the Visegrad four in the field of defense and defense industry, the development of the armed forces, and the situation in the Western Balkans were discussed.
Speaking about the topics of the quadrilateral meeting, the head of the Hungarian Ministry of National Defense said: one of the main topics was the war raging in the neighborhood.
"We agreed that, above all, we are interested in establishing peace as soon as possible, and everything must be done to ensure that the danger of escalation and drifting into war is avoided by both our countries and the EU and NATO," Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky pointed out .
The minister said: Hungary's position regarding assistance is known, it has not changed: Hungary is helping its Ukrainian friends within the framework of the largest humanitarian program in its history. He explained: almost one and a half million people have come to Hungary so far. He added: Hungary has previously made offers to care for the wounded and demining, it continues to maintain these offers, and it has also announced a military first aid training course. "We condemn Russian aggression and uphold the importance of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," said Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.
The Hungarian Minister highlighted the topics on the table:
Hungary is also committed to close V4 cooperation in the field of defense policy and defense industry, which it considers to be the best forum for representing common values and interests.
He said: military development has become a priority area in the region, since 2017 one of the largest military development programs in Central Europe has been taking place in Hungary. "As a result of this, within the V4 framework, there is a good opportunity to carry out our purchases in coordination, which will contribute to the development of the common Central European defense industry and, through this, to the economic growth of the countries of our region," pointed out Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.
After the meeting, Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad emphasized the importance of the Visegrad Four countries agreeing to provide additional assistance to Ukraine.
He also assessed the bilateral cooperation between the Visegrad countries as important in the field of defense development, which, as he said, could become a joint military industrial cooperation of several member countries.
Source: MTI
Image source: Facebook/Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky
