Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during a press conference with his Sweden's counterpart Ulf Kristersson at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, on Feb 23, 2024. Hungary's prime minister says that he will seek to opt his country out of any NATO operations aimed at supporting Ukraine. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told state radio on Friday, May 24, 2024 that Hungary opposes a plan NATO is weighing to provide more predictable military support to Ukraine.

Hungary will seek to opt out of any NATO operations aimed at supporting Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday, suggesting that the military alliance and the European Union were moving toward a more direct conflict with Russia.

Orbán told state radio that Hungary opposes a plan NATO is weighing to provide more predictable military support to Ukraine in coming years to repel Moscow's full-scale invasion, as better armed Russian troops assert control on the battlefield.

“We do not approve of this, nor do we want to participate in financial or arms support (for Ukraine), even within the framework of NATO,” Orbán said, adding that Hungary has taken a position as a “nonparticipant” in any potential NATO operations to assist Kyiv.

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“We've got to redefine our position within the military alliance, and our lawyers and officers are working on ... how Hungary can exist as a NATO member while not participating in NATO actions outside of its territory,” he said.

Orbán, considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest partner in the EU, emphasized NATO's role as a defensive alliance, and said he doesn't share the concerns of some other Central and Eastern European countries that Russia’s military wouldn't cease its aggression if it wins the war in Ukraine.

“NATO’s strength cannot be compared to that of Ukraine,” he said. “I don’t consider it a logical proposition that Russia, which cannot even deal with Ukraine, will come all of a sudden and swallow up the whole Western world.”

Hungary has refused to supply neighboring Ukraine with military aid in contrast to most other countries in the EU, and Orbán has vigorously opposed the bloc's sanctions on Moscow though has ultimately always voted for them.

The nationalist leader is preparing for the European Parliament election on June 6-9, and has cast his party as a guarantor of peace in the region. He has characterized the United States and other EU countries that urge greater support for Ukraine as “pro-war” and acting in preparation for a global conflict.

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Russia unlikely to 'swallow the West whole', Hungary's Orban says

Fears that Russia would mount an attack on any NATO member are unfounded, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday, adding that the war in Ukraine that is now in its third year showed the limits of Russia's capabilities.

Hungary, a member of the European Union and NATO, has been refusing to provide military assistance to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Budapest also seeks to opt out of NATO's long-term plan to aid Ukraine, with its foreign minister calling it a "crazy mission".

Nationalist Orban, in power since 2010, has built his campaign for next month's European Parliament elections on the agenda of avoiding deeper involvement in the conflict, saying the vote could determine the course of war and peace in Europe.

"The Russian military is fighting a serious and difficult war with the Ukrainians," Orban told public radio in an interview. "If the Russians were strong enough to wrestle down the Ukrainians in one go, they would have done so already."

Orban said NATO's military capabilities far exceeded those of Ukraine, therefore it was unlikely that Russia or any other country would mount an attack against NATO.

"I do not consider it logical that Russia, which cannot even defeat Ukraine, would all of a sudden come and swallow the Western world whole," said Orban. "The chances of this are extremely slim."

Orban said he considered references to the Russian threat as a prelude to deeper Western involvement in the Ukraine war.

Relations between Budapest and Washington have soured because of Hungary's foot-dragging over the ratification of Sweden's NATO accession and also over Orban's warm ties with Moscow despite the war in Ukraine.

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Putin's favorite NATO member wants to 'redefine' membership so it doesn't have to help Ukraine

• Hungary's prime minister said officials were working to "redefine" his country's NATO membership.

• He said the aim was to not have to "take part in NATO actions outside NATO territory."

• The change would probably allow Hungary to avoid being involved in NATO assistance to Ukraine.

The NATO member most aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to alter its membership in the Western military alliance so it can avoid aiding Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion.

Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, told state radio on Friday, "Our lawyers and officers are hard at work to see how Hungary can maintain its NATO membership in a way that it wouldn't have to take part in NATO actions outside NATO territory," according to Bloomberg.

Orbán said military officials and lawyers in the country were trying to find ways to allow Hungary to act differently from other alliance members.

He said allowing Hungary to formally opt out of NATO discussions about expanding its role in the current conflict in Ukraine would result in a new kind of NATO membership.

It would "redefine" Hungary's membership, he said.

Hungary blocks support for Ukraine

Hungary has sought to restrain Western and NATO support for Ukraine throughout Russia's invasion.

It doesn't send weapons to Ukraine, and it spent months blocking billions in European Union funds for the country before eventually allowing it to proceed in February.

In April 2022, two months after the invasion began, Orbán referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as one of his "opponents."

In the recent interview, Orbán said he supported NATO's policy of helping other members if they came under attack but didn't support giving Ukraine —which isn't a member — money and weaponry, as most of the alliance does.

He said doing so could lead to more military involvement in Ukraine, including sending troops.

Orbán also said he didn't agree with the views of some NATO members that Russia might invade countries on the eastern flank of the alliance, instead describing Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a war between "two Slavic countries."

Multiple European countries, including those on NATO's eastern flank that border Russia, have warned that Russia could attack elsewhere, and they need to prepare.

NATO is backing Ukraine

NATO has been a strong supporter of Ukraine throughout the conflict.

Through the alliance, members have pledged more than $700 million in support, in addition to billions in contributions they've made individually.

NATO's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, has proposed that NATO allies coordinate $100 billion for Ukraine over the next five years, but not all members seem convinced by the plan.

Stoltenberg has also said Ukraine will one day become a member of NATO, something that is strongly opposed by Russia.

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