Peace in the Western Balkans is of paramount importance to Hungary
Peace and security in the Western Balkans are of paramount importance to both Hungary and NATO – the Minister of Defense in Brussels on Friday, during a break in the Defense Ministers’ meeting of NATO member states.
Don’t miss this!
“Just minutes away from death”
Speaking to the public media, Tibor Benkő said: Russia is at the intersection of the serious threat of terrorism and illegal migration to the south in Central Europe, in Hungary, so Budapest considers it extremely important to ensure the security and stability of the whole region. .
He emphasized that NATO wanted to guarantee peace and security in the Western Balkans in Kosovo with a significant contribution from Hungary, which means that
From mid-October, the Hungarian commander will lead the largest NATO operation, the KFOR peacekeeping mission.
“The fact that there is peace in the Western Balkans is mainly due to the peacekeeping forces, the fact that thousands of soldiers are protecting and ensuring the conditions of everyday life,” he said.
The Minister exposed: Hungary is acting in accordance with NATO’s objectives of enhancing security and defense. It does what the alliance has set itself the task of building, developing and offering key national capabilities and raising its defense budget. Hungary is also on track with its commitment to spend at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense by 2024, as well as its commitment to spend 20 percent on development.
The establishment of a regional-led multinational division headquarters will contribute to NATO’s objectives, as will the establishment of a regional special operations component headquarters.
Regarding NATO’s role in Afghanistan, Tibor Benkő said that the closure of the mission could be called an evacuation rather than an exit, because, as he put it, it is clear that
an area of operation cannot be left in this way, a military operation cannot be completed in this way.
“The important question is not how many people we evacuated, but how many of those in need stayed there,” he said.
Although the engagement was initially about the fight against terrorism, the elimination of its hotbed, it will take a long time to formulate a consensus resolution summarizing the experiences, successes and failures of the twenty presence. The completion of the mission is a warning example to everyone that military operations should be entrusted to soldiers, the defense minister added.