New Hungarian Defense Minister issues unprecedentedly harsh statement, publicly announcing a shift in political course and a firm response to the insolent actions of Russian intelligence.
Hungarian Minister of Defense Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi / © screenshot from video
The new Minister of Defense of Hungary, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, has officially stated that the country aims to restore the trust of its Western allies and is completely “closing the door” to Russians.
He made these remarks on Tuesday, July 14, during the Budapest Energy and Strategic Dialogue, organized by the Equilibrium Institute think tank, as reported by the Hungarian publication Telex.
Restoring Trust and the Russian Footprint
According to the head of the defense department, to develop a new strategy, the government must consider the interests and values of both the nation itself and its partners. Therefore, one of the new administration’s first steps was to offer official apologies to allies, particularly the Finns, whose NATO accession was deliberately delayed by the previous government. As a military man, Ruszin-Szendi described the past administration’s approach as completely unacceptable.
The minister also noted the heightened activity of the Russian Federation’s special services within Hungary. He emphasized that Budapest is closely monitoring not only the Russian-Ukrainian war but also the conflict in the Middle East.
“We are closing the door to the Russians because Russian intelligence tried to sneak in through the back door,” Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi sharply emphasized.
Defense Spending and Modernization
Speaking about commitments to NATO, the minister assured that Hungary will definitely meet the requirement to allocate 5% of GDP to defense by 2035. However, the country currently has other urgent priorities due to the difficult economic situation inherited from its predecessors. At this stage, the government has decided to give absolute preference to funding education and healthcare.
Despite this, the technological modernization of the armed forces, which began in 2017, is still actively underway. The main goal of these processes is the complete restoration of Hungary’s defense capabilities, which have been neglected for the past 35 years.
To achieve this goal, the government plans to conclude new development agreements with several European defense industry players. Budapest is actively encouraging foreign companies to establish their production facilities directly on Hungarian territory.
Recall that the Hungarian Prime Minister decided to open KGB archives. Hungary plans to publish dossiers of informants from the communist era.
Comments Sort: New Old Popular Send