Orbán to hinder Sweden and Finland from joining NATO?
This Thursday, in The New York Times, David E. Sanger wrote about the current news regarding Finland and Sweden and their plans to join NATO. While Sanger writes about all sides, the pros and cons of this development, he also mentions Hungary and the self-contradictory political communication of the government and PM Orbán. He states:
“Many believe Mr Putin will lean on Hungary and its prime minister, Viktor Orban, to reject the applications.”
You can read Sanger’s article HERE.
Sweden and Finland’s application to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation right now is primarily a diplomatic move. It is meant to state that Sweden and Finland openly take a stand by Ukraine not only with words but by actions, joining the military alliance of the countries that most heavily support Ukraine in the war and that will not stay neutral.
Hungary is also one of the members of NATO and has been since 1999 when Hungary joined right alongside Poland and the Czech Republic. Why is Sanger concerned then? His concern probably comes from the recent news that the EU would even reconsider the oil embargo over Viktor Orbán’s veto, though there had been no official announcements made about it. And while the current political narrative about the war in Hungary is quite hard to follow, on May 14th, in her officiation speech, Katalin Novák, the freshly-appointed president, stated that she condemns the Russian aggression and attack.
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So, can Sweden and Finland expect a veto from Hungary regarding their application to NATO? It is quite hard to tell, but what we already know is that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, was not in favour of the application, but he had not stated if he would veto it or not.
Turkey is the second-largest military force in the alliance, and for now, it is open to being convinced about accepting the two Scandinavian countries’ membership applications. Meanwhile, Sanger also reports that
“Britain has been explicit on the issue, signing a separate security pact with the two countries.”
David E. Sanger also wrote that the US is ultimately happy to welcome the two countries in the alliance, and their objective is to make sure Finland and Sweden will not have to worry about the threats of Russia regarding their membership. But again, he stresses this will only be possible if the unity within NATO is stable and that Orban will not hinder this process.
Read alsoOrbán to hinder Sweden and Finland from joining NATO?
Source: nytimes.com, ft.com