NATO top official visits two ongoing exercises in West Hungary

Budapest, September 29 (MTI) – Hungary is committed to its NATO missions and plays an important role in international tasks, including two ongoing exercises in Hungary, Brave Warrior 2016 and Black Swan, Chairman of NATO’s military committee Petr Pavel told MTI in an interview on Thursday.

Pavel, accompanied by Hungarian Defence Minister István Simicskó and Hungary’s Chief of Staff Tibor Benkő, visited the two ongoing exercises in Varpalota, western Hungary.

With these exercises Hungary plays a vital role in training armed forces and in deterrence measures aimed at strengthening security, Pavel said, noting that Hungary takes part in air space control and hosts the NATO Forces Integration Unit (NFIU). One of the aims of the NATO command in Székesfehérvár, central Hungary, has been to show the power of deterrence against aggression from Russia over the past few years, he added.

Pavel said NATO treats the migration crisis as an issue concerning security and is monitoring developments in this context. NATO has expressed its readiness to help the European Union. It has contributed to the border security work of EU Frontex for six months, with the handling of masses arriving from Turkey and the Greek islands, he said. Pavel also noted however that stopping migrants and protecting the borders with military measures is only a symptomatic treatment, but “one must go deeper” to eliminate migration routes. A lack of economic development and welfare services and the ensuing instability in the countries of origin is difficult to treat with military means, he told MTI.

NATO can help by supplementing the European Commission’s development programme and by training and developing local military, police and coastguard forces, he added. NATO will seek closer cooperation with the EU in these areas in the upcoming period, Pavel said.