Along with condemning Russia, Péter Márki-Zay also wants the government to suspend its Paks II authorization procedure and to immediately expel the Russian "spy bank" from Hungary.Continue reading
A political consensus is needed on recognising the paramount importance of the security of Hungary and the Hungarian people in connection with the war unfolding in Ukraine, the leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group said on Friday.
Hungary is well prepared for all eventualities regarding the conflict, Máté Kocsis told the media in Parliament after attending a closed-door meeting of the defence and law enforcement committee in which the heads of national defence and law enforcement gave a briefing on the situation in Ukraine.
Hungary is ready to provide humanitarian aid and to fulfil its duties arising from its membership of NATO and EU, Kocsis said.
“Hungary won’t be sending troops or weapons to Ukraine,” Kocsis said. “We don’t want to take part in this conflict.”
In the closed committee session, he said, it was “reassuring” that the tone of opposition members was more moderate than in their public statements.
Ágnes Vadai of the opposition Democratic Coalition said parliamentarians and the Hungarian public should be briefed regularly about the situation, including information regarding the country’s eastern border region. Vadai, the committee’s deputy head, briefed journalists in Parliament about the meeting in which Tibor Benkő, the defence minister, and Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, the armed forces’ chief, presented information about the situation in Ukraine. This information has been sealed under secrecy until 2051, she added.
She said that whereas Fidesz politicians had previously referred to “Russian military action”, now there was greater acceptance of the term “Russian aggression”, and a parliamentary resolution should be passed accordingly. A special session of parliament will be convened for this purpose, she added.
Vadai said a meeting of the defence and law enforcement committee and the security committee would be initiated weekly in its current composition until the end of the current parliamentary cycle.
featured image via Zoltán Balogh/MTI