Hungary's gov't says no to extra NATO troops

The government of Hungary will not accept further North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops on the country's soil as part of maneuvers related to the Ukraine crisis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said here on Friday.

Contacted by Xinhua for confirmation, the ministry's Press Office referred to an earlier interview given by Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto to Euronews and said that it reflected the Hungarian government's official stance.

The United States has already sent extra troops to Poland and Romania, while Germany has deployed additional troops to Lithuania. NATO troops are already stationed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

"No, we have not agreed to that (the deployment of extra NATO troops) and we will not agree because we have already NATO's troops on the territory of the country, which is the Hungarian army and the Hungarian armed forces," Euronews quoted Szijjarto as saying. These troops "are in the proper shape to guarantee the security of the country. So, we don't need additional troops on the territory of Hungary."

The U.S. has claimed that Russia may be weighing a potential "invasion" of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Hungary's Ministry of Defense also commented on the issue. "There is no need for a lasting presence of NATO forces in Hungary, but this does not mean that Hungary will move away from the organization, in fact, it will have closer ties."