Jens Stoltenberg proposes $100 bln aid fund for Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on April 30 sent an official proposal to the alliance’s member states to raise $100 billion in military aid to Ukraine over the next five years and put it in a special fund, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

"On Tuesday the NATO member states received the secretary general's proposal to raise 100 billion dollars that NATO plans to spend on the war. Moreover, it is to be collected over five years, which means that NATO expects the military action to continue during this period," the top diplomat said during an M1 TV broadcast, leaving for Paris to participate in a meeting with his counterparts from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. He pointed out that Hungary does not want any part of this NATO initiative.

"We Hungarians do not want to participate in joint NATO operations to transport weapons and train Ukrainian soldiers. In the coming weeks, during the negotiations, we will fight for Hungary’s right to stay away from this madness, from collecting these 100 billion dollars and pumping them out of Europe," the foreign minister said, specifying that Stoltenberg's proposal had been received by alliance members "in the first reading."

He also said that the government considers its "most important task to be to guarantee the security of the Hungarian people." "Therefore, in the next period we will focus on staying out of war. We cannot ignore the danger of a new world war and the preparations for a nuclear war. This madness here in Europe must be stopped," Szijjarto said, adding that the conflict in Ukraine can only be resolved at the negotiating table and not on the battlefield.

The minister said that the meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris will have to discuss "the issue of the European and global economic development strategy for the coming years." However, he emphasized that this is "not easy, because economic development happens best in peace time, and peace for Europeans is becoming more and more distant as NATO moves to cross red lines."