Hungary Defence Official Meets Washington Officials

Washington, DC, November 21 (MTI) – Challenges posed by Russia in connection with the Ukrainian crisis and threats by the Islamic State (ISIS) were the focus of talks between Hungarian defence deputy state secretary and officials in Washington, DC.

Peter Siklosi, who is in charge of defence policy, held talks in the State Department, the Pentagon, the White House’s National Security Council, Congress and several think-tanks over the past four days.

Speaking to MTI on Thursday evening, Siklosi said he had discussed Hungary’s future long-term contribution to NATO’s Readiness Action Plan (RAP), noting Hungary’s plan to contribute an infantry unit to the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), which is part of the NATO Response Force (NRF).

Siklosi also noted Hungary’s plan to increase defence spending. He confirmed that Hungary will contribute more than 100 personnel to the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) after the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) concludes its mandate in Afghanistan in December this year.

Concerning the fight against ISIS, Siklosi noted that as an active member of the international coalition fighting against the terrorist group, Hungary had dispatched, in cooperation with the US air force, over 50 tonnes of ammunition to Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq. Hungary is exploring additional possibilities for contributing to the fight against ISIS, he noted.

He told MTI that the Hungarian armed forces have representatives serving in CENTCOM, the US Department of Defence’s Central Command headquartered in Florida’s Tampa, tasked with regions in the Middle East and Central Asia, most notably Afghanistan and Iraq.

“The measures already taken [by Hungary] and those planned have won great appreciation and praise by our partners,” Siklosi said.

Photo: MTI – Szilard Koszticsak

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters