Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday declared an end to a month-long dispute with Sweden over NATO expansion, with the Swedish side’s visit rebuilding trust and Hungarian parliament voting on Monday to ratify the Nordic nation. He said that the path has been opened for doing so. Membership of a nation in an alliance.
“We are ready to fight and sacrifice our lives for each other,” Orbán said at a joint press conference with visiting Swedish leader Ulf Kristersson in the Hungarian capital Budapest. Hungary is the last holdout officially supporting Sweden’s membership in NATO.
The relationship between the two countries is that Sweden has decided to provide Hungary with four Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets in addition to the 14 already in use by its air force, and fighter jet manufacturer Saab has promised to start a war. After that, their relationship quickly warmed up. Hungarian Artificial Intelligence Research Center.
Hungary has delayed Sweden’s ratification of NATO membership for 19 months, a delay that has embarrassed and angered the United States and other members of the military alliance.
Mr. Orbán and other Hungarian officials have given different explanations for the foot-dragging. Among them are complaints about Sweden’s accusations of democratic backsliding in Hungary under Mr. Orbán, materials critical of Hungary in Swedish schools, and comments made by Mr. Kristersson years before he took office. etc. are included.
Mr Orban insisted on Friday that Sweden’s provision of new fighter jets and research institutes was not part of the deal to join NATO, but media outlets controlled by his ruling Fidesz party called for Hungarians to strengthen military cooperation with Sweden. It was touted as a victory for negotiation tactics. .
“Today’s meeting is a milestone in a long process,” Orbán said. “This long process can also be described as a process of rebuilding trust, and today we can reach the end of this phase.”
After months of complaining that Sweden did not show enough respect for his country, Orbán on Friday praised Sweden as a reliable partner. He noted that the country had taken in many Hungarian refugees after Soviet troops crushed Budapest’s anti-communist uprising in 1956, and was a strong supporter of Hungary’s entry into the European Union in 2004.
Mr Kristersson’s visit to Budapest reversed his previous position that he would only travel to Budapest for talks with Mr Orbán after Hungary’s parliament had voted to approve the country’s membership in NATO.
The Swedish Gripen fighter jets, provided under a lease agreement, form the backbone of the Hungarian Air Force. Hungarian pro-government news outlets have reported in recent days that Orbán is seeking a better deal for the plane as part of negotiations over Sweden’s NATO membership.
When Kristersson arrived in Budapest, Saab, the Gripen fighter jet maker, announced It announced that it had signed a contract with the Swedish state to deliver four additional fighter jets to Hungary.
Some diplomats and analysts say Orbán’s sudden focus on expanding military cooperation with Sweden has damaged Hungary’s reputation as a reliable ally and failed to secure clear benefits in return. It was seen as a face-saving way to break out of the impasse pointed out by the government.
Until Friday, for Hungary, at least for Mr. Orbán, the most tangible benefit of the long delay in accepting Sweden was the increased attention it focused on a country with little military, diplomatic or economic influence. was. It accounts for 1 percent of the European Union’s economic output and has a military of about 40,000 active duty members, about the size of New York City’s police force.
Hungary became the final hurdle to Sweden’s NATO membership after Turkey’s parliament voted to approve it last month. After Turkey’s vote isolated Hungary; Orbán assured NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.said that “the Hungarian government supports Sweden’s accession” and would urge parliament to take action “at the first possible opportunity”.
But when opposition lawmakers convened parliament to vote on Sweden’s membership earlier this month, Fidesz boycotted it.
Sweden’s membership is complicated by Mr. Orbán’s frosty relationship with the Biden administration, which has strongly supported Sweden’s participation in the alliance, and the Hungarian leader’s opposition to the U.S. policy of supporting Ukraine with arms. entwined with.
“I very much hope that President Trump will return to the White House and that there will be peace here in the eastern half of Europe,” Orbán said last Saturday. in his annual State of the State address.
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators who visited Budapest over the weekend to press Hungary to quickly ratify Sweden as a NATO member were given a cold shoulder when Hungarian ministers and Fidesz members all refused to meet with them. In a message posted on social media, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said his country would not be swayed by foreign delegations. “It’s pointless for visiting U.S. senators to try to apply pressure,” he said.
In a sign of growing frustration, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, this month called Mr. Orbán “the most untrustworthy member of NATO” and called him Hungarian. raised the possibility of imposing sanctions. Prevent the expansion of the alliance.