UK Defence Minister WARNS Putin invading Ukraine will bring MORE Nato closer to Russia

LONDON: Britain's defence minister Ben Wallace said on Monday that it was important to defuse the Ukraine-Russia crisis as a war would not only mean human casualties but would also lead to greater instability, higher fuel prices and migrant flows.

Wallace said it was "important to signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the very thing he fears, that is, more NATO closer to Russia, would be the consequence of invading Ukraine."

The British minister expressed support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's planned trip to Russia on Tuesday for talks with Putin, adding: "We have to de-escalate this, we have to stand up for the sovereign rights of Ukraine."

Hungarian Defence Minister Tibor Benko told the same news conference that Hungary felt there was no need for a deployment of foreign NATO troops in Hungary, an alliance member state that borders to the northeast with Ukraine.

Benko said the Hungarian government was not against NATO deploying troops in Central and Eastern European countries closer to Ukraine, but that Hungary was able "to perform this task on its own" in its territory.

"We have such capabilities, which are also at the disposal of NATO, for which there is no need for a deployment of NATO troops in Hungary."

Orban's Hungary has relatively good relations with Russia despite tensions between the alliance and Moscow over Ukraine.

Orban said on Friday (January 28) he would seek to increase the amount of gas it receives from Russia at his talks with Putin in Moscow, after Hungary agreed to a new long-term gas supply agreement with Russia's Gazprom GAZP.MM in August.

Orban is also expected to discuss an ongoing expansion of Hungary's Paks nuclear plant, where Rosatom is building new reactors.

Moscow denies planning to attack Ukraine and is demanding security guarantees including a promise by NATO never to let Kyiv join the alliance.

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