The transatlantic unity must be strengthened, and trust between the two shores of the Atlantic must be increased – Minister of Foreign Affairs János Martonyi said at a memorial meeting of the Hungarian Atlantic Council held in Budapest on Tuesday, April 8. In his speech, Minister of Defence Csaba Hende stressed that the third Orbán Cabinet is going to be a reliable and strong partner of its allies.

Speaking at the meeting held to mark the 15th anniversary  of Hungary’s accession to NATO, Foreign Minister Martonyi pointed out that the events in Ukraine prove that the areas to be defended “still count”, and those violating territorial integrity must face the consequences.

“Besides, the transatlantic unity and trust on the two sides of the Atlantic must be strengthened, and the American commitment and European contribution must be increased” – he said. In his opinion, all NATO member states should strengthen their defence capabilities, and Hungary has already set the course towards achieving this goal.

According to János Martonyi, the Ukrainian developments in February and March gave rise to “a hard, original concept of security” – the security of the area, the country, the people. The events call for a reappraisal of our ways of thinking , strategy and capabilities, and we must do this calmly and prudently in a principled way, he pointed out.

The Foreign Minister reminded his audience that the change of regime had taken place 25 years ago, and the year 1989 saw the triumph of the idea of freedom, principles and values. This was the starting point for Hungary’s return into the community of Western states, a process which lasted for years, and the NATO accession was an important stage in it. He thinks that the success is due to the interconnected, continuous efforts of earlier governments, and the national consensus.

In his speech, Minister of Defence Csaba Hende stressed that the third Orbán Cabinet would also be a reliable, strong partner of its allies. He noted that the NATO accession had been a milestone in Hungary’s history.  As he said, the country had been “tossed about” between East and West until the NATO- and the subsequent EU accession, which firmly anchored Hungary to the Western shore.

Csaba Hende also said that it would be easy to take security for granted, so we must be aware that it is not a given, but we must work for it on the national level and in NATO.

He also pointed out that the stability and future Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans is of paramount interest to Hungary, our country is committed to NATO’s open doors policy, and hopes that the enlargement of the Alliance will continue. Montenegro is the most prepared aspirant country, and Hungary will do its best to help its integration, he said.

Academician Prof. Szilveszter E. Vizi, President of the Hungarian Atlantic Council reminded his audience that the Hungarian Atlantic Council had been established in 1992 with the original mission of furthering Hungary’s accession to NATO and promulgating Euro-Atlantic principles and values in Hungarian society. In 1997, 85 per cent of Hungarians voted for our country’s accession to NATO, which remains the highest ever percentage of support for joining the Alliance in an aspirant country, he said.

He added that NATO is the most successful political and military organization in history.

(MTI Hungarian News Agency)