Hungarian Foreign Minister: Russia is not a threat to NATO

(Baonghean.vn) - Hungary's Foreign Minister said it would be "unrealistic" to think that Russia would attack a NATO member. This is a contrasting view with many other NATO countries, most of which see Russia as a real threat.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjato sees no threat from Russia to NATO members. Photo: Reuters.

Relations between Russia and the West have been strained since Moscow annexed Crimea in March 2014. NATO members including Poland and the Baltic states have voiced concerns that they could be targets of Russian hostility. Last month, NATO leaders agreed to deploy military forces to patrol their airspace and coastlines.

However, contrary to the concerns of other NATO members, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjato said: “I don’t think Russia will attack a NATO member country.” He added that each NATO country felt the threat from Russia with “different degrees of intensity.” But he had a different view: “This is not what we feel in Russia. I don’t think Russia poses any threat to us.”

Hungarian conservative politician and Prime Minister Viktor Orban has partnered with Russia to build nuclear reactors for Hungary, a move that has been called a “pragmatic” relationship between Hungary and Russia.

Other countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia have similar relations with Russia. Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has called for the removal of Western sanctions against Russia.

Still, tensions continue between Russia and several other NATO members. Last month, Bulgaria’s prime minister accused Russia of violating its airspace, calling the actions “provocative” against the Bulgarian air force.

Quan Le

(According to Reuters)