The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, left open the possibility for Hungary to opt out of an aid package for Ukraine after Budapest signaled it would abstain from deepening support for Kyiv.
During his upcoming visit to Budapest on Wednesday, Stoltenberg plans to hold talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The NATO chief mentioned in an interview in Latvia his intention to seek a compromise, pointing to alliance members opting out of past missions, including in Libya and Afghanistan. This indicates a willingness to accommodate Hungary’s concerns while maintaining NATO’s unity and effectiveness.
Hungary has consistently obstructed Ukraine’s efforts to enhance cooperation with NATO since the onset of Russian aggression in 2014.
This opposition is rooted in Ukraine’s 2017 language law, which, while primarily targeting Russian minority rights, also unfairly affected other ethnic minorities such as the Hungarian, Polish, and Romanian communities in Ukraine.