Swedish PM: Orbán should explain why our NATO membership is not approved

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson demands answers from Hungary. Specifically from PM Viktor Orbán.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is demanding answers from Hungary. This is after the government decided to separate Sweden’s and Finland’s applications for NATO membership, Sweden’s Aftonbladet reports.

“I ask why Sweden is now being separated from Finland. These are signals that we have not received from the Hungarian side before, so I will definitely raise this with Orbán today,” the Swedish prime minister said.

According to Telex, Kristersson’s reference suggests that he will consult Viktor Orbán today to clarify why only Finland’s NATO membership application will be voted on by the Hungarian Parliament at the end of March.

• Read also: NATO ignores Hungary’s objection, holds Ukraine committee meeting

Fidesz group leader Máté Kocsis announced last Friday that the vote on Finland’s accession has been brought forward to 27 March. Meanwhile, the vote on Sweden’s accession will be decided later.

For months, the governing parties have been delaying a vote on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. MEPs have cited insults to Hungary by Finnish and Swedish politicians as reasons. Earlier this week, the US urged Hungary to approve the applications. The Hungarian Parliament has been delaying the decision for more than eight months. With this, the proposal has become one of the longest debated ones in the last 13 years, Telex concludes.

PM’s chief of staff: Hungary will not send ammunition to Ukraine

Hungary remains committed to staying out of the war in Ukraine, calls for a ceasefire and peace talks, and does not participate in weapon deliveries, the Head of the Prime Minister’s Office told a press briefing on Thursday.

The past few weeks have seen “an increasing number of worrying statements” rejecting ceasefires and calling for continuing the war, Gergely Gulyás said. Those calls point to escalation rather than the peaceful solution Hungary’s government is promoting, he said. The government stands by the ceasefire and peace talks as the only way to save lives, he said.

Accordingly, Hungary will stay out of weapon deliveries, but remains an active member of all preparations geared at increasing defence capacity and improving defence equipment within NATO or Hungary, he said. Citing the NATO treaty, Gulyás noted that the alliance’s members will only enter a conflict if any other member is attacked. According to NATO’s interpretation, such an attack last occurred on September 11, 2001, he added.

Hungary fulfils all its duties concerning the strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank but strictly for defence purposes, in line with the North Atlantic Treaty, Gulyás said. NATO is expected to make a decision on the plan to boost the eastern flank at its summer summit in Lithuania, he said. Hungary, however, was one of the first members to set up a high-readiness force that also includes US, Italian, Croatian and Turkish troops serving under Hungarian command, he added. Because this task force serves defence purposes, it will not get involved in the Russia-Ukraine war, Gulyás said.

Meanwhile, Gulyás said Hungary wished to take part in the European Union’s joint ammunition purchase, but only for domestic use, and would not send lethal equipment abroad. He added that the seven-year scheme would be beneficial for Hungary.

• Read also: Szijjártó: Hungary will not give up Russian energy for political reasons

Gulyás welcomed that the EU was becoming more active on defence, noting that Hungary’s prime minister had been the first to propose the establishment of a joint EU military force over a decade ago.

He also called on all political forces to support the “pro-peace resolution” submitted by ruling party lawmakers at the vote in parliament next week. Referring to last year’s general election, Gulyás said the Hungarian electorate had made it clear a year ago that it wanted peace, adding that the resolution could serve to strengthen the will of the voters.

Hungary remains committed to staying out of the war and is certain that the right thing to do is to use every means available to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and its Transcarpathia region, help Transcarpathia Hungarians, provide financial support to Ukraine and take in refugees, Gulyás said. At the same time, the will of the Hungarian people has to be enough to prevent the country from being dragged into the war, he added.

Asked about the United Kingdom’s plan to send depleted uranium shells to Ukraine, Gulyás said such a move would not lead to de-escalation. Hungary’s position on weapons deliveries is clear, and it does not recommend that anyone send weapons with depleted uranium, he said.

Read alsoAmbassador Pressman compares the Hungarian government with the Kremlin

Source: telex.hu, aftonbladet.se, MTI