Restored Limanowa War Cemetery Is to Open in December

The Minister told MTI that 250-300 thousand Hungarian soldiers had lost their lives during the First World War in the area of contemporary Poland.

Minister Hende and his Polish counterpart signed a Polish–Hungarian agreement on war grave care in October 2013. In this, they decided to launch a joint restoration project of the Limanowa war cemetery as well. Between November 28 and December 18, 1914, the combined Austro-Hungarian army fought a weekslong battle at Limanowa, where it finally halted and drove back the Russian forces attempting to break through in the direction of Krakow.

Minister Hende told MTI that he and his Polish counterpart had also discussed the crisis in Ukraine. They concluded that the unfolding events give cause for concern from the viewpoint of Europe’s security. He stressed that the developments in Ukraine throw light on the significance of strong transatlantic relations, collective defence and solidarity in the Alliance as well as the indivisibility of the common security of North America and Europe. The Ukrainian crisis also highlights the need to increase European defence spending, he added.

The Hungarian and the Polish Ministers of Defence agreed that the defence cooperation between the two countries has become “a growth sector", and that the Visegrád (V4) cooperation in the field of defence has also made significant progress over the recent period. As agreed by the Defence Ministers of member states in Visegrád this March, the V4 countries will set up a European Union battle group by 2016.

Minister Hende highlighted a recent decision made by the government of Hungary about allocating resources to generate close air support (CAS) capability for the Gripen fighter aircraft of the Hungarian Defence Forces. As the Minister pointed out, this means the operational capability development of a state-of-the-art weapons system in the armed forces of Hungary. By undertaking CAS missions, Hungary may become, after Poland, the nation with the second most significant contribution to the planned V4 EU battle group.

Minister Hende told MTI that the V4 countries had been discussing for years the possible ways for Ukraine to participate in the battle group to be set up, for example by contributing attack or transport helicopters. The V4 cooperation continues to remain open to receive this Ukrainian contribution, the Minister added.