Foreign Minister János Martonyi called NATO membership the cornerstone of Hungary's national security but added that the Alliance should place more emphasis on the principle of collective defence.

On 20 March, the Hungarian Foreign Minister addressed an Oslo ceremony marking the fifteenth anniversary of the NATO accession of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. The declarations made 15 years ago about the historic importance of Euro-Atlantic integration, shared democratic values, transatlantic solidarity and Hungary's commitment are still valid, he said.

Mr. Martonyi said the important lesson to be drawn from the Ukrainian conflict was that NATO should make genuine steps to enforce its "open-doors policy". The Hungarian Foreign Minister highlighted the growing role of regional cooperation, referring to the recent session in Estonia of the Visegrad (V4), Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers. He also opened an exhibition entitled "Visegrad 1335-1991-2013" at the Hungarian embassy in Oslo.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)