The ministry quoted Peter Szijjarto as saying the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad was one of the most heavily militarized areas in Europe. Geographically, the Baltic is perhaps the most complicated area to protect within NATO, he added.

Szijjarto thanked the Hungarian soldiers for their duty and composure, stating that their task represented the most difficult mission of the Hungarian Armed Forces in the current circumstances of the war.

Besides bearing great responsibility for the security of NATO and Hungary, their most important duty is to prevent a direct conflict between NATO and Russia, he said.

“We would like peace to prevail, but at the moment it is not the military situation, and an increasingly serious war situation seems apparent. The most important thing is to prevent the escalation of the conflict,” he added.

“A country cannot be strong without a strong defence, and that includes a strong air force within the armed forces. We are therefore providing all possible resources to guarantee the sustained strength of the Hungarian Armed Forces within NATO…” Szijjarto said.

“We are proud that we Hungarians can also contribute to making NATO the strongest military alliance in the world,” he added.

“We can rightly say that without Hungary, its army and air force, NATO would not be as strong as it is,” he said.

The Hungarian soldiers, he added, could return to the Baltic countries in 18 months or two years because it was likely that the importance of the mission would only increase in the coming period.