Hungary as a NATO member has tasks in connection with the ceasefire in Ukraine and the fact that both sides frequently violate it, Minister of Defence Csaba Hende said at a briefing in Parliament on Wednesday.

Leaders of NATO member states agreed at the summit held on 8 September 2014 in Wales that several response measures were needed, the Minister told a parliamentary committee.

Hungary agreed to send troops to the "Iron Sword" NATO military exercises planned in the Baltic States. A Hungarian rifle corps will be sent to Lithuania in the coming month to take part in the exercises, the Minister told the closed-door meeting.

Head of the committee for defence and a lawmaker for the Fidesz party Lajos Kósa said after the meeting that one of Hungary's most important pledges is to raise defence spending to near 2 percent of gross domestic product in the next ten years. This plan will already be accounted with when planning next year's budget, he said.

(MTI)