Imre Szekeres met with his Russian counterpart, Anatoly Serdyukov, who arrived on Friday on an official visit to Hungary from Noordwijk in the western Netherlands, where he had been attending an informal meeting of the Russia-NATO Council.
"I have told the Russian defense minister that Hungary firmly and strictly follows the provisions of the CFE treaty," Szekeres said. "And if Russia and NATO reach a corresponding agreement, we will be among the first to ratify the treaty."
He also said that Hungary, a NATO member since 1999, could sign a bilateral military-technical cooperation agreement with Russia in the near future.
Russia's defense minister said on Thursday that NATO member states could ratify the adapted CFE treaty before the Russian deadline for a moratorium expires in December.
A July 14 Russian presidential decree set a 150-day deadline for the West to ratify the treaty. Meanwhile, Russia has pledged to honor all its commitments under the treaty until the moratorium comes into effect in mid-December.
"This [deadline] encourages NATO to make a decision as soon as possible," Anatoly Serdyukov said, following the Russia-NATO Council meeting.
The CFE Treaty was amended in 1999 in Istanbul in line with post-Cold War realities, and has so far only been ratified by Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine.
