In the highly tensioned geopolitical landscape in Europe, there is seldom space for leaders to stand up for the legitimate national interests that they were elected to defend.
The US-NATO-EU steamroll most countries into prompt compliance with their relentless agenda. But that is not the case for Hungary and its PM Viktor Orbán.
Associated Press reported:
“Hungary’s parliament postponed ratifying Sweden’s NATO accession bid on Wednesday to its autumn legislative session.
The postponement, the latest in a long succession of delays that have gone on for a year, all but guarantees that the Nordic nation will not join the Western military alliance ahead of, or during, the NATO summit in July.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his party will not schedule a vote on Sweden’s bid to join the Alliance during its final spring legislative session, next week.
“Hungary remains the only NATO member country, besides Turkey, that hasn’t yet approved Sweden’s bid to join the alliance.
The Nordic nation, along with neighboring Finland, dropped its longstanding military neutrality after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and quickly signaled its intention to join NATO.”
Budapest has decried Swedish “blatant lies” about Hungary’s democracy, and demanded the improvement of relations before accepting the Scandinavians into the Alliance.
“The political relations between Hungary and Sweden are awfully wrong,” he said. “We don’t want to import conflicts into NATO.”
Meanwhile, Swedish leadership is putting on a brave face regarding its chances of joining NATO in July, despite the Turkish renewed opposition after the latest Koran-burning incident, and also the Hungarian reticence in accepting them.
Reuters reported:
“Sweden’s prime minister said on Friday his Hungarian counterpart had assured him that Budapest would not delay the Nordic country’s NATO accession, following reports that Hungary’s parliament would delay a ratification of the membership.
Sweden applied last year to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but Turkey and Hungary have so far blocked ratification.
‘I spoke to (Prime Minister) Viktor Orban yesterday and he confirmed very clearly that what he said to me last time still applies’, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Friday.
‘Hungary will not delay Sweden’s ratification process in any way’, he told reporters. Kristersson did not specify whether Orban’s comments implied a vote could take place before the NATO summit in Vilnius.”
On the subject of the war in Ukraine, Budapest has also flexed its independence, maintaining a
Politico reported:
“In the interview, Orbán reiterated his argument that it will be “impossible” for Ukraine to win a war against Russia.
For several months now, the Hungarian leader has essentially argued that Ukraine should stop trying to reclaim Russian-occupied territory and seek a negotiated settlement — a stance that has left him mostly isolated within the Western alliance.
‘Ukraine is not a sovereign country anymore’, the prime minister said. ‘They don’t have money. They don’t have weapons. They can fight only because we support them — I mean the West’.
Echoing some of his previous statements, Orbán said ‘time’ was ‘on the Russian side, not on the Ukrainian one’ — adding that Kyiv’s main European partners, Germany and France, are not able to broker a peace agreement.”
Also, Orbán now opposes the plan by the European Commission to provide Ukraine with additional 50 billion Euros of financial support.
“‘One thing is clear, we Hungarians will not give more money to Ukraine until they say where the previous about 70 billion Euros went’, Orbán said.”
Hungary’s call for accountability comes as the country has not received funds from the fund, because of its alleged actions ‘damaging democracy’ – funds that the Commission intends to send it to Nazi-infested Ukraine.
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