Sweden

Sweden’s NATO ratificaton on agenda at Hungary-Türkiye summit

szijjártó erdogan

Hungary-Türkiye energy cooperation and the ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession were on the agenda of talks in Budapest between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Sunday.

Hungary and Türkiye have maintained a strategic partnership, while the sides agreed earlier to build an even closer cooperation, Szijjártó said.

To that end, Erdogan will again visit Budapest on 18 December to attend a meeting of the high-level strategic council and sign an agreement under which the two countries would cooperate as key strategic partners and  provide mutual aid in emergency situations, he added.

“This shows the dedication of both countries to enhancing cooperation and the fact that both countries clearly profit from this mutual cooperation,” he said.

“Unfortunately, there have been several events recently that make such agreements timely and justified,” he added.

“Türkiye plays an extremely important and indispensable role in securing Hungary’s energy supplies, considering that a significant part of natural gas supplies arrive in Hungary through the TurkStream pipeline,” Szijjártó said.

Türkiye’s role as a transit country will grow even further after the the Hungary-Azerbaijan natural gas transport agreement enters into force and after Turkmen exports start in the direction of Europe,” he added.

Energy cooperation will enter a new phase also because natural gas supplies can start from Türkiye thanks to the finalisation of an agreement between Hungary’s MVM and Türkiye’s Botas on the purchase of 275 million cubic metres of gas in the next years, he said.

“The 275 million cubic metres of gas will contribute to securing the country’s energy supplies and establishing physical natural gas transport links between Türkiye and Hungary,” he added. Additionally, a decision has been made on starting talks about the storage of Turkish gas in Hungary for a fee, he said.

Szijjártó said the ratification of Sweden‘s NATO accession was also discussed and since both the Turkish and Hungarian parliaments are currently in recess, the issue will be returned to the agenda in the autumn.

“We agreed that we would maintain continual consultations and stay in touch, informing each other on the state of parliamentary procedures and their progress,” he said.

Attention! Hungarian dog found in Sweden, do you recognise her?

A Hungarian female dog was found in Sweden, based on a post shared in a local Facebook group. Do you recognise her?

“This Spaniel female dog was found in Sweden and owners, from Hungary, would probably love to see her again. Dog has a chip but not registred in Sweden, so I have no more info. Sad if dog doesn’t find her owners. Perhaps you some way can make this possible”, one of our readers wrote us in e-mail. Here are the print screens.

Furthermore, HERE you may read about the famous Hungarian dog breeds. In THIS article, you may check out four dog-friendly restaurants in Budapest.

Minister shared when Hungary might approve Sweden’s NATO accession

Sweden NATO accession minister

The partnership between the European Union and Türkiye must be “closer than ever” to boost the continent’s physical and energy security, and improve its ailing competitiveness, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday, after meeting his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. The newly appointed minister’s first official visit lead to Hungary, proving the country’s crucial place in the Turkish foreign policy.

Szijjártó told a joint press conference after the talks that it was a “great honour and friendly gesture… and proof of strategic relations” that Hungary was the first country Hadan visited after he was appointed foreign minister. Türkiye’s weight in the world is larger than ever in the “new geopolitical and world economic era”, and the country is key to the physical and energy security of Hungary and the whole of Europe, Szijjártó said. “As with its politics Brussels is constantly increasing migration pressure on our southern border, it is highly important that Türkiye should mitigate it,” he said, according to a statement by the foreign ministry, MTI wrote.

“Should Türkiye not take border protection seriously, should it not keep the some million migrants there, the pressure on the external borders of the EU, and so on Hungary, would become unbearable,” he said. Szijjártó praised Ankara’s migrant policy, noting the financial burden posed by related border protection measures. “We can understand this problem because we have also spent several hundreds of billions of forints on border protection, and got only 1 percent of it reimbursed by the EU,” the foreign minister said.

Türkye-Hungary energy cooperation

Türkiye is also of paramount importance in terms of Hungary’s energy security, as most of Russian natural gas imported by the country arrives via the TurkStream pipeline, he said. Without that, meeting Hungary’s energy demands would become impossible, he said. Hungary has received some 2 billion cubic metres of gas via TurkStream this year already, a great boost to winter reserves, said Szijjártó. Hungary’s gas reserves are 48 percent full, compared with the EU’s average of 25 percent, he said. Talks are under way on Hungary’s direct purchases from Türkiye, which would make Türkiye inevitable when diversifying Hungarian energy resources, the foreign minister said.

An agreement was also reached on a close cooperate in the nuclear energy sector, he said, highlighting the importance of experience exchange especially because the two countries are simultaneously constructing nuclear power plants that are using the same technology, he said. Europe, with its waning competitiveness, needs cooperation with Türkiye, which could soon become one of the ten largest economies in the world, he said. Letting such a relationship wither would be a “huge luxury”, he added.

When can Sweden join the NATO?

“That is why we call for returning to mutual respect and honesty in EU-Türkiye cooperation, and to forge a partnership stronger than ever…”, Szijjártó said. Szijjártó also called for updating the EU-Türkiye customs union and to grant Turkish citizens a visa waiver as soon as possible. The minister also touched on the war in Ukraine, saying that the conflict had “no solution on the battlefield” and thanking Türkiye for “the only successful mediation in last year’s grain exports deal”.

Regarding protests in Denmark and Sweden where demonstrators burnt copies of the Q’ran, Szijjártó said Hungary’s government saw the desecration of books and symbols of any religion as “unacceptable”. “Citing freedom of expression when holy books of any religion are being burnt is not only unacceptable but outrageously cynical. I think it is a reasonable expectation towards every government here in Europe that they prevent the desecration of religious symbols,” he said.

Sweden’s NATO accession has been pending for a year because of Hungary’s and Türkiye’s delay. Concerning that issue, he said the two countries regularly informed each other. However, the decision is in the hands of the Hungarian parliament. The government submitted their bill, so it depends on the MPs of Fidesz when there will be a law about Stockholm’s NATO membership, 444.hu wrote.

Turkish-Swedish NATO deal is done, but when will the Hungarian Parliament vote on it?

erdogan türkiye nato

Lithuania organised a successful summit in Vilnius and very important decisions were taken, Zsolt Németh told in connection with the recently concluded NATO summit.

The chairman of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee said it was “extremely gratifying that after the agreement with Finland, the Turkish-Swedish agreement has now been concluded”.

Hungary, by the way, I think, has served this with its own approach. We have reason to be pleased that we have managed to bring this to a successful conclusion, He said InfoRádió, and later reiterated that “close Hungarian cooperation with Turkey has contributed to the conclusion of this agreement”.

According to the Fidesz politician, the approach of conducting peace diplomacy has received its most serious contribution as a result of this NATO summit. “We have taken a big step towards peace with this summit”, he stressed.

On the need for an extraordinary session of parliament to ensure that Hungary is not the last country to ratify Sweden’s accession, Zsolt Németh said:

I don’t see the need. The negotiations on this issue will start now, but I would like to point out that the Turkish Grand National Assembly will meet on 1 October and will put the issue of the ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO as a top priority on the agenda of the session following 1 October. We will start work in mid-September,”

he noted.

As we wrote before, Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, hosted NATO’s latest summit, which US President Joe Biden and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, also attended. Prior to taking the family photo, Biden shook hands with only one country leader, Orbán – VIDEO

Hungarian FM: NATO summit to focus on war in Ukraine, Sweden NATO entry

foreign minister szijjártó

The war in Ukraine and Sweden’s NATO entry will be high on the agenda of the organisation’s summit in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on leaving Budapest for the conference.

“Hungary’s position is clear: peace must be achieved in Ukraine as soon as possible to save lives,” he said on Facebook.

Concerning Sweden, he said “the government supports its NATO entry, which is why we submitted a relevant proposal to parliament months ago.” “Concluding the ratification process is a mere technicality,” Szijjártó added.

Wizz Air pilots died in a horrific crash, here is their last conversation

Wizz Air pilots Sweden

A Hungarian small plane crashed in Sweden on 18 June with two Hungarian nationals on board. Now Hír TV published the last words of the pilots and the air traffic controllers. The two pilots who died in the accident were employees of the Hungarian low-cost airline, Wizz Air.

Wizz Air pilots died in Sweden

As we wrote before, the Swedish police found the wreck and the bodies of the two Hungarians on board dead this Monday in 8-10 metres depth. The propeller-driven aircraft crashed into the sea 120 kilometres southwest of Stockholm. According to Swedish authorities, the Socata MS.893 Rallye Commodore 180 light propeller aircraft took off from Poland and was heading for Dala-Järna, northwest of the Swedish capital.

But they changed course for unknown reasons en route and headed for Skavsta International Airport, 100 kilometres southwest of Stockholm. The accident took place at 8 PM last Sunday. The Swedish authorities believe they modified their flight plan because of the bad weather conditions. Check out a video of the crash site HERE.

This was their aircraft:

Aircraft crashed in Sweden
Photo: PrtScr/Youtube

Later, it became clear that two employees of the Hungarian low-cost airline, Wizz Air, lost their lives. Both were between 40 and 50. The two men were on a private journey. They travelled to Sweden to buy a new plane. Their bodies were found with the help of helicopters and Swedish divers in the sea this Monday.

Swedish authorities tried to help but could not

The pilots, Dániel and Gábor, were employees of Wizz Air. Both were trained professionals and leaders of the Műegyetemi Sportrepülő Egyesület, the sport plane association of the Hungarian University of Technology and Economics (Budapest BME).

Their last conversation with the air traffic control was recorded and published yesterday. They asked for a weather report from the Borlange Airport, their reserve.

Air traffic controller: “I got information from one of our colleagues that has a friend living at your destination [inaudible]. He said that the weather was not good at all, so he recommends you try to go somewhere else.” “Okay, thank you very much, sir”, one of the Hungarian pilots replied in a cheerful tone.

However, they could not land anywhere in that zone because of the bad weather or the closed airports. A couple of minutes before the crash, the air traffic controller asked whether they could make an instrument approach. But the Hungarians said they could not. After 8 PM, a last call from the air traffic control came saying he lost contact with the Hungarians probably because their altitude was too low. The sorrowful reality was that they crashed into the sea.

VIDEO: A plane crashed in Sweden, Hungarian passengers did not survive the tragedy

sweden

A small plane crashed in Sweden and its two Hungarian passengers were found dead on Monday, Swedish police reported. The propeller-driven sports plane crashed into the sea 120 kilometres southwest of Stockholm, near the village of Arkösund on Sunday.

According to Swedish authorities, the Rallye light propeller aircraft took off from Poland and was heading for Dala-Järna, northwest of the Swedish capital but changed course for unknown reasons en route and headed for Skavsta International Airport, 100 kilometres southwest of Stockholm.

The wreckage and its passengers – two Hungarian citizens aged between 40 and 50 – were found on Monday morning with the help of divers and helicopters. Christer Ekeroth, head of rescue at the Maritime and Air Rescue Centre, said the plane was found at the bottom of the sea, at a depth of about 8 to 10 metres.

The crash site is cordoned off for further investigation during the day and a future recovery will take place later. The incident is being investigated as causing death without a suspect at the moment, according to the police.

The alarm came to SOS just after 8 PM on Sunday. The Coast Guard, Sjöräddningssällskapet and a rescue helicopter from Visby took part in the search.

We published a few weeks ago a shocking railway VIDEO, when a gruesome near-fatal accident was averted last minute, watch HERE.

The United States blocks the sale of arms to Hungary

Hungary military Ukraine weapons

The move is aimed at putting pressure on Hungary regarding the expansion of the alliance ahead of next month’s summit.

The relationship between the United States and Hungary is becoming increasingly combative, napi.hu reports. So much so, that Senator James E. Risch, the ranking Republican member of the Foreign Relations Committee, is stopping the USD 735 million US arms sale to Hungary for not contributing to Sweden’s membership of NATO.

Risch told The Washington Post that “Hungary must allow Sweden into NATO if it wants the arms package, which includes 24 HIMARS rocket launcher batteries, and more than 100 rockets and pods along with associated parts and support.”

The decision to curb new arms sales from Budapest shows the growing anger of NATO supporters such as Risch towards Hungary, the paper adds.

“The fact that it is now June and still not done, I decided that the sale of new U.S. military equipment to Hungary will be on hold,” said Risch, whose objection prevents the Foreign Ministry from moving forward with the sales process.

A spokesman for the US State Department declined to comment, as did a spokesman for the Hungarian government.

PHOTOS: EU Heads of Missions visited Pápa military airport

Pápa military airport Sweden

“Today was an interesting and busy day for the EU Heads of Missions in Hungary, in the framework of Sweden’s EU Presidency”, the Embassy of Sweden in Budapest wrote on their Facebook page about their visit. Here is their unchanged post.

“In the morning, by invitation of Ambassador Dag Hartelius, they visited Pápa, which is home to the Strategic Airlift Capability – the first multinational initiative in the world that aims at maximizing military strategic airlift capability through the sharing of resources and pooling of capacity.

It is a conglomerate of twelve partnering nations, including Hungary, Sweden and eight other EU member states. It is an important tool for the security of Europe. Thanks for the Heavy Airlift Wing and Swedish Commander Col. Peder Söderström for having the EU Ambassadors! The visit to Pápa was followed by a visit to Veszprém in the afternoon.

Here are some photos:

Read also:

President of Hungary: Sweden makes unacceptable statements about Hungary

Novák Katalin

NATO must remain united and be strengthened, but issues over the alliance’s expansion must be debated, President Katalin Novák said on Turkish state television late on Monday.

In response to a question concerning the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden, she said in an interview to the English-language news programme One on One on TRT World: “In these demanding times we have to stay united and we also have to show our strength.”

NATO is an important alliance which should be strengthened, she added.

Commenting on NATO accession, she said: “We should have debates about these decisions; we should really consider the pros and cons.”

Novák said that both the Hungarian parliament and Turkey had already decided on Finland’s NATO accession, but concerning Sweden, were tough debates taking place in the Hungarian parliament.

“From Sweden’s high representatives there were some unacceptable statements about Hungary,” she said. “They were [baseless], biased statements about Hungary,” she added.

Read also:

However, she said that her opinion as president was that “we should put these issues aside and say that in this very difficult and demanding situation we have more reasons to accept in the NATO Sweden than to refuse this.”

“I think that NATO can become stronger by receiving Sweden but I also do understand the concerns of Türkiye and I also do understand the concerns of the Hungarian parliamentarians,” she said.

Commenting on the European energy crisis, she said Hungary was very much dependent on Turkiye in terms of gas supplies from Azerbaijan. “Turkiye has been a very reliable partner,” she said in connection with Russian gas which also comes through Turkiye on the Turkish pipeline.

On the question of the country’s dependence on Russian energy, she said that Hungary’s geographical position was such that dependence cannot be changed overnight, “but we are constantly working to reduce this dependence”.

In the interview Novák also expressed Hungary’s condolences to the Turkish people in connection with the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

There is a chance that Hungary will not let Sweden to the NATO

Orbán plane hijacked

If more and more countries engage in the war in Ukraine, the greater the likelihood is of a world war involving nuclear weapons, the group leader of ruling Fidesz said in an interview on Sunday.

World War may come

Kocsis vowed that the ruling parties would “fight” to make sure movement is made towards peace and negotiations. Meanwhile, Hungarian leftist parties represent pro-war interests at odds with Hungarian interests, whereas the government is fighting against the escalation of war with a pro-peace parliamentary resolution and by pushing for negotiations, he said in an interview to public radio. Leftist parties promoted the cause of war during the general election campaign, calling for weapons and soldiers to be sent to Ukraine, Kocsis said. Hungarians leftists “have the task, in exchange for dollars, to represent a pro-war stance in Hungary, because that’s what is in the American interest,” he said, adding that many European countries appeared to be going the same direction, MTI wrote.

He said the war had widened, and instead of using their power, influence and military superiority to an immediate ceasefire, Western powers “are drifting further and further into the war by supplying ever more effective and powerful weapons”. “We are steps away from western European or other Western countries sending soldiers to Ukraine, which we think is something we should avoid at all costs,” he said.

Sweden’s NATO accesion in danger

Put to him that leftist parties had suggested that Hungary should adopt a similar UN resolution, Kocsis said the Hungarian parliament should prioritise Hungarian interests. Kocsis said the ruling parties would work strenuously for peace negotiations and the prevention of the war’s escalation. The opposition rejected backing the pro-peace declaration in the same way they rejected the government’s stance on migration, coronavirus vaccines and energy sanctions, he insisted.

The resolution is the strongest political response to the pressure and challenges Hungary faces, he added. Regarding the NATO integration of Finland and Sweden, Kocsis noted that Fidesz lawmakers supported Finland’s accession. The ruling parties are still divided on certain issues regarding Sweden joining the alliance, so talks are ongoing, he said.

Read also:

Featured image: illustration

Valid worries? Sweden fears Hungary will keep it out of NATO

sweden swedish flag hungary flag

After signals from Hungary, Sweden is “less certain” that it will be a member of the alliance by July, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said on Thursday. Last week, the foreign minister was confident that the NATO accession would take place soon. However, by Thursday, his hopes had faltered.

Last week, Tobias Billström said he was confident that his country would be a member of the NATO by July, the next NATO summit in Vilnius, Index reports. However, he was not so sure by Thursday. He told the following to Swedish news agency TT yesterday:

“I have taken note of what has been said in recent days, especially from the Hungarian side (…) I think the word hopeful is more appropriate in the current context.”

Sweden, together with its neighbour Finland, applied to join the alliance last May. To become members of the organisation, all 30 member states must accept and ratify the bids. Finland’s application has already been approved by the Hungarian Parliament: we reported about it here.

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BREAKING: Hungary’s Parliament ratifies Finland’s NATO bid – UPDATE

Hungarian lawmakers on Monday voted to ratify Finland’s NATO accession.

Parliament approved Finland’s bid with 182 votes in favour and 6 against.

Finland applied to join the military alliance in the wake of the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The right-wing ,used to be anti-communist party Our Homeland (Mi Hazánk), which often defends Russia’s interests, voted against in parliament, that it would be a provocation to expand the military alliance on Russia’s border, while the neutral zone is an international interest. But there is no neutral zone. Russia’s land border is nearly 20 000 kilometers long, and one-sixteenth of this (1,215 kilometers) is shared with NATO members.

If Finland’s NATO accession is finalised, the border between NATO and Russia will be even longer. Belarus has also joined Russia militarily, so the Belarusian border could be a collision zone in a possible major conflict.

As we wrote before, the Hungarian Parliament has still not voted on Sweden’s accession. Here is why Hungary blocks Sweden’s NATO accession, the government explained. Details HERE.

  • read also: Ukraine taking revenge on Hungary? This decision will hurt, read details HERE.

UPDATE

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Monday evening thanked Hungary for ratifying her country’s NATO bid.

“Thank you for the clear decision!” Marin said on Twitter.

She also spoke out in favour of Sweden’s swift accession to the alliance.

“The NATO memberships of Finland and Sweden strengthen the security of the entire alliance,”

she said. “It is in everyone’s interest that Sweden also become a NATO member before the Vilnius summit.”

Explanation: Here is why Hungary blocks Sweden’s NATO accession

Balázs Orbán Kötcse

The political director of the Hungarian prime minister, Balázs Orbán, explained on Twitter on Thursday evening why Hungary is reluctant to approve Sweden’s application for NATO membership. Read on to find out.

With the tweet, Mr Orbán reacted to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s demand for answers after Hungary decided to separate Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership applications. We reported on it yesterday HERE.

In fact, the problem for government politicians is that Sweden’s leaders have repeatedly expressed concerns in the past about the direction of political developments in Hungary, Telex reports. They have also said that it is time for the EU to take tougher action against the Hungarian government. And this does not seem to sit right with the governing parties (Fidesz and KDNP).

The offending sentences that Mr Orbán quotes in his tweet are the following:

  • “For the EU, large parts of the job still remain to break the development in Hungary, to put pressure on the Hungarian government and to support the increasingly strong opposition.” (3 March 2021, Ulf Kristersson, then leader of the Moderate Party, now Prime Minister)
  • “It is now required that the EU act clearly and that the new conditionality mechanism stops payments to Hungary.” (30 June 2021, Jessika Roswall, then EU spokesperson of the Moderate Party, now Minister for EU Affairs)
  • “Hungary’s xenophobic and nationalist government continues to violate the principle of rule of law and wavers in supporting Ukraine.” (10 May 2022, Johan Pehrson, then leader of the Liberal Party, now Minister for Employment and Integration)


With his tweet, Viktor Orbán’s political director makes it clear that the majority in the Hungarian parliament is blocking Sweden’s NATO accession because of statements made by Swedish politicians on other issues. In contrast to Finland, which will be voted on in Parliament early next week. Balázs Orbán concludes his post with the words “Good morning, Stockholm”.

balázs hidvéghi epp fidesz parliament
Read alsoHungarian MEP: The European Commission doesn’t care about balanced debate

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

ulf kristersson swedish pm

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.

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.

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.

US Ambassador David Pressman Budapest
Read alsoAmbassador Pressman compares the Hungarian government with the Kremlin

After Türkiye’s step the Nordic expansion of the NATO could depend on Hungary

orbán erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will soon give his country’s blessing to Finland’s NATO membership. Pressure from NATO could increase on Hungary as the parliament delay vote on NATO membership for Sweden and Finland again.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that Turkey could soon ratify Finland’s application to join NATO, index.hu reports based on the official Finnish governmental communication.

Erdogan makes important statements

Reuters also reports that Turkey’s parliament will “highly likely” ratify Finland’s NATO accession bid before mid-April. Reuters attributed this information to two Turkish officials.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto is set to meet with Erdogan on Friday. The Turkish president pledges to ratify Finnland’s application to NATO.

“We will do our part, we will keep our promise. We will meet with the president on Friday and fulfil the promise we made” – Erdogan is quoted by index.hu.

Hungarian parliament delays vote on Finland, Sweden again

This means that Hungary will remain the only NATO member country that hasn’t yet approved the two Nordic countries’ bids to join the Western military alliance.

In the latest installment of the saga surrounding the long-delayed vote dating back to July 2022, a parliamentary session was set to start on 20 March, during which lawmakers were expected to vote on the two Nordic countries joining NATO. However, according to hvg.hu, due to the request of Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, the session will be postponed by a week.

Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky told index that in recent years, Hungary has been the target of regrettably untrue and false accusations from politicians from both countries.

“Hungary deserves more respect, so we would like the ratification process to be completed so that in the future we can engage in political dialogue as partners and allies who trust each other” – the defence minister is quoted by index.hu.

orbán kiskőrös 15 march national day speech
Read alsoOrbán: Petőfi would turn against those who want to put Hungarians into a European superstate

Using NATO as a bargaining tactic?

So far the Hungarian government has maintained its position that the issue of NATO enlargement is not linked to any negotiations with the European Commission and the alleged breaches of the EU’s rule-of-law requirements. This dispute means that the EU Commission withholds 65 percent of the regional funds from Hungary, which amounts to EUR 7.5 billion.

However, it looks like the Hungarian government could have used the NATO enlargement issue as a bargaining tool with the EU Commission. Hvg.hu presented a leaked letter from Zsolt Semjén, in which he explains the postponement of the vote by saying that the “ongoing negotiations with the European Commission” have not yet been concluded.

Hungary will veto Sweden’s NATO bid with Türkiye?

Viktor Orbán President Erdogan

The United States welcomes the progress made by Türkiye in the ratification of Finland’s NATO accession bid while urges Hungary to conclude its ratification process for both Finland and Sweden without delay, a statement by the National Security Advisor at the White House said on Friday.

The statement by Jake Sullivan welcomed “President Erdogan’s announcement that he will send Finland’s NATO accession protocols to the Turkish Parliament” and encouraged Türkiye “to quickly ratify Sweden’s accession protocols as well”.

“In addition, we urge Hungary to conclude its ratification process for both Finland and Sweden without delay,” the statement released by the White House said. “Sweden and Finland are both strong, capable partners that share NATO’s values and will strengthen the Alliance and contribute to European security. The United States believes that both countries should become members of NATO as soon as possible,” it said.

Máté Kocsis, the parliamentary group leader of Fidesz, Orbán’s bigger governing party, said that Hungary would decide about Finland’s accession in March. However, he postponed the similar decision concerning Sweden. PM Viktor Orbán met with President Erdogan yesterday, during which the Turkish leader called him his friend. According to official statements, the two leaders talked about energy issues, but it is unimaginable that they did not touch the NATO accession of the two Nordic countries.

“We want peace” – Orbán says under his photo with Erdogan:

Unclear when and whether Hungary will support Sweden’s NATO bid

NATO EU Viktor Orbán military kickout

The parliamentary group of ruling Fidesz will support the ratification of Finland’s NATO accession bid at a vote set in the national assembly for March 27, while it will make a decision in connection with Sweden at a later time, the leader of the group said on Friday.

“I am informing you on behalf of the Fidesz group that we have made a decision to support Finland’s NATO accession,” Mate Kocsis said on Facebook. “We will move the relevant vote in parliament to an earlier date, to March 27, and will unanimously support Finland’s bid. As regards Sweden, our group will make a decision later.”

Kocsis in his post reminded “domestic and international players” that the Hungarian parliament was “a sovereign body” beholden only to Hungarian voters. “We therefore do not accept any kind of pressure exerted either from abroad, or by Hungarian left-wing politicians working on foreign orders, by NGOs, or by any media outlet regarding when, at what pace and what matters parliament should discuss, and on which day it should hold a vote on those,” Kocsis said.

He said the greater the pressure was to have a decision made quickly, the more thorough consideration was required.

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Read alsoHungarian expert: U.S. fed up with Hungary’s shuttle diplomacy