Hungary returns to NATO: Magyar promises reliable partnership but will not supply weapons to Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar in Brussels to discuss preparations for the upcoming alliance summit in Ankara.

Budapest is seeking to restore its position in the transatlantic alliance, but has no intention of supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Magyar took office earlier this year after his TISZA party removed Viktor Orbán’s long-ruling Fidesz government from power. Following his meeting with Rutte, he wrote on his Facebook page that the talks focused on renewing Hungary’s constructive role in NATO.

“We agreed with Secretary General Mark Rutte that Hungarian troops are performing excellently within the framework of NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo,” Magyar wrote.

He also added that Hungary “will once again become a reliable partner of the most powerful military-defense alliance in the world.”

Despite the diplomatic reset, Magyar made clear that a number of Budapest’s positions remain unchanged.

“I informed the Secretary General that Hungary will not supply weapons or military equipment to the zone of the Russian-Ukrainian war,” he stated.

Under Orbán, Hungary consistently refused to supply Kyiv with weapons or participate in NATO’s coordinated assistance programs for Ukraine. The new government maintains the same position.

During his visit to Brussels, Magyar is also holding meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Their goal is to unblock approximately €10 billion in frozen EU recovery funds that Budapest risks losing if the necessary conditions are not met before the end of August.

Rutte briefed Magyar on preparations for the NATO summit scheduled for July 7–8 at the Beştepe Presidential Complex in Ankara, as well as on international tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. The summit is expected to address defense spending targets — with some allies pushing for them to reach 5% of GDP — as well as the question of sustained military support for Ukraine.

The Rutte-Magyar meeting coincided with a visit to Budapest by General Alexus Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and commander of United States European Command. Grynkewich assumed both commands in mid-2025 and is conducting a series of visits to allied capitals as NATO finalizes new defense plans, including a revision of the alliance’s integrated air and missile defense strategy — the first such update in several decades. The parallel talks underscore the alliance’s desire to more closely integrate Hungary ahead of the Ankara summit, even as Budapest continues to seek exemptions for itself on the Ukrainian issue.