Hungary and Türkiye are important partners and allies, no matter whether we talk about trade, the economy, cultural or defense issues, said Minister for Defense Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky in Ankara after having talks with Hulusi Akar, the Minister for Defense of Türkiye on October 24. The two ministers signed a Letter of Intent, establishing the legal foundations of the future military cooperation between the two countries.
Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky underlined that the high level relations of the two countries are regular and are based on mutual trust. According to the Minister for Defense, the positions of both countries, urging peace in the war in Ukraine, are well-known. They call for a ceasefire and the immediate beginning of the peace talks on all possible occasions, and in such a way, in Ankara as well. “Our friends in Türkiye and we agree on this. We appreciate the efforts that Ankara is making in order to achieve peace, even as mediators between the warring parties,” said the Minister for Defense of Hungary.
Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky pointed out: Türkiye too is providing humanitarian aid, and Hungary is helping Ukraine and the refugees of the war within a humanitarian program that is the most sizeable in her history. The Minister for Defense agreed with his counterpart that besides the war in Ukraine, attention must also be paid to “the 360-degree threats to NATO, in other words to all threats emerging on any side.” He added: Türkiye is in the vanguard of the struggle against terrorism, and both nations are committed and valued members of NATO.
Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Hulusi Akar also agreed that the stability of the Western Balkans is important. In connection with this, the former stressed that Hungary is present with a military force in the largest mission of NATO on land, in KFOR. The commander of the mission was a Hungarian till not long ago, and Türkiye is planning to take over the command from Italy within a year.
The armies of the two countries cooperate in highly significant fields. Almost immediately after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Hungary set up a battle group in order to strengthen the Eastern wing of NATO. Türkiye is also a member of this battle group. Besides this, the multinational command post, operating in Székesfehérvár and being part of the command structure of NATO, is also working with the participation of Türkiye.
Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky emphasized: since 2017 Hungary has been carrying out the largest development of its army in its history. As part of this, obsolete military technology is being replaced with NATO-compatible, modern equipment. In these efforts, Hungary wishes to rely on the products of the Turkish military industry. As an example, the Minister mentioned the GIDRAN carriers, built on a Turkish structure. Ten of these are already in service in the Hungarian army, and we expect forty more to be assembled in our country.
On the second day of his two-day visit, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky unveiled a monument, dedicated to the memory of the soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy during the First World War. Both this monument and the Cultural Year of 2024, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations, highlight the historic ties of Hungary and Türkiye.
