Biden cabinet disappointed: PM Orbán leads Hungary out from NATO by boycotting Sweden?

There was an extraordinary parliamentary session yesterday, on 5 February, in Hungary. However, the lawmakers could not ratify Sweden’s NATO accession because PM Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz and KDNP did not take part in the session, so it lacked a quorum. The USA is disappointed in Hungary, and Orbán’s moves raise concerns among NATO allies about whether Hungary can be trusted or is an ally of Putin.

The matter is important for Washington and other NATO allies. That was clearly shown by the fact that representatives of 16 NATO Allies attended the extraordinary session. US Ambassador David Pressman was among them, and said, leaving the chamber, that Sweden’s NATO membership directly affects the United States’ national security, Reuters wrote.

“This is about the security of Hungary, of the United States, and of the entire NATO Alliance. We look forward to Hungary’s urgent action”, Mr Pressman concluded his post.

Better ties with Russia than other EU and NATO members

“The Prime Minister pledged to convene parliament, to urge parliament to act at its earliest opportunity, today was an opportunity to do that,” Pressman added.

Reuters wrote that PM Orbán had better ties with Russia than other EU and NATO members. The relevant bill has been stranded in the parliament since mid-2022 despite government promises.

Orbán’s Fidesz said today that the Hungarian Parliament would only give the green light for Sweden if the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, visited Hungary. Just like he did in the case of Türkiye, another NATO member who boycotted the accession before.

Sweden has not commented on that claim. Before, they said the prime minister would only come to Budapest after the acceptance of Sweden’s NATO bid.

The Hungarian parliament will start its regular session in end-February. The Hungarian diplomacy has time until then to convince Stockholm about an official visit to Budapest. Otherwise, this will be the second visible loss for Orbán in foreign policy in just one month.

The other one was in Brussels last week when he accepted the EU’s EUR 50 billion aid for Ukraine without receiving anything in return. Hungary did not get more money from the frozen RRF and development funds, he did not get an annual veto concerning the payment process of that money. Meanwhile, Ukraine got everything they wanted.

Will Sweden rescue Orbán?

In the case of Sweden, even experts do not know why PM Orbán decided to veto the country’s NATO accession. Some believe that is how he wanted to support President Erdogan. If that is the truth, the Turkish leader may have set him up since they accepted Stockholm’s bid urgently in January and let Hungary alone with Budapest’s boycott.

As a result, many may think in Washington or Brussels that Hungary might be in an alliance with Russia. However, the Ukraine aid showed that Orbán does not want to use his veto in case he remains alone. That is why they could agree even before the start of the extraordinary Brussels session. And probably that is why the Hungarian parliament will vote for Sweden’s NATO accession. The one-million-dollar question is whether Sweden will choose to rescue Orbán’s dignity by ‘sending’ their prime minister to Budapest before the end-February parliament session. If not, it might happen that Orbán will have to accept a phone call and the possibility of a future meeting.

Evidently, the Hungarian government-close media will sell every scenario as a victory.

Read also:

• Russians outraged: ‘PM Orbán betrayed us!’ – Read more HERE
• If Sweden wants to join the NATO, their prime minister will have to travel to Budapest – Details in THIS article

Featured image: illustration

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