Erdogan to meet, celebrate and may agree on Sweden’s NATO accession with Orbán

Two NATO leaders opposed Sweden’s NATO accession after Stockholm submitted their plea: Orbán and Erdogan. Sweden’s main adversary was Türkiye, but Orbán helps out his friend so it is not alone in the diplomatic duel. The Orbán-Erdogan meeting today might put an end to that conflict.

The details of Erdogan’s fourth visit to Budapest (after 2013, 2018 and 2019) have been kept secret. The prime minister’s press chief, Bertalan Havasi, kept the press in the dark, saying that the two leaders would discuss economic and political affairs but did not say anything precise about the schedule.

444.hu wrote that the two leaders would probably talk about a possible Ankara-Stockholm agreement over Sweden’s NATO accession. If Türkiye gives the green light, Budapest will not oppose the deal like it happened in the case of Finland earlier.

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• Sweden and Finland NATO accession: whose interests does Orbán represent?

Strongmen of Europe forging new alliance

Among others, the two strongmen of Europe will probably talk about economic questions (investments in the energy and real estate sectors) and migration issues. Turkish press wrote that Erdogan would only spend one day in Budapest, and his visit is the first step in a global tour during which he would like to meet with the US President and the leaders of Russia and India to discuss global matters.

Based on Turkish press information, he will meet with Putin later this month and that may help solve the food supply crisis following the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Considering that, Erdogan’s Budapest visit is more than symbolic and can be regarded as an acknowledgement of Orbán’s unconditional support towards Erdogan during this year’s presidential election, Világgazdaság wrote.

Read also:

• Orbán: Erdogan opponent a ‘Soros man’, would have been a tragedy if he had won, read more HERE

Of course, some Hungarian political players condemned the Turkish president’s visit. Among others, Momentum Movement hung a banner saying we fought against Ottoman rule for 150 years, so inviting dictator Erdogan on our biggest national day is shameful. Here is a photo:

Párbeszéd: Turkish president’s 20 August visit ‘harmful message’ to international public, Hungarians

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Hungary on 20 August “sends a very serious and harmful message to the international public and Hungarians”, a spokesman of the opposition Párbeszéd party said on Saturday. Turkiye is a key ally of Hungary, and it is important that the two countries are in regular contact, Richárd Barabás said in a video posted on Facebook. At the same time, the Turkish president “has veered very far from the values of human rights, democracy, the rule of law and civil rights, which we Europeans, we Hungarians and we Greens firmly believe in”, he added.

Barabás said the Turkish state was engaging in “severe propaganda similarly to [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán’s regime”, creating divisions between rural and urban residents. He said the authorities in Turkiye also imprisoned journalists, cracked down on protests and that members of the LGBTQ community were also often victims of attacks. He said that by inviting the Turkish president to Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was sending the message that his views on the state “are very similar to what Turkish President Erdogan envisions and implements in Turkiye”.

Párbeszéd condemns the Turkish president’s visit as well as the fact that it will take place on the anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian state, Barabás said. The party assumes, he added, that the visit “has something to do with delaying Sweden’s accession to NATO”. Párbeszéd calls on the prime minister to demonstrate that Hungary is a sovereign country capable of making its own decisions when it comes to international political matters, Barabás said. It also urges the prime minister not to serve the needs of the Turkish president or delay approval for Sweden’s NATO accession, he added.