Sweden applied to join the transatlantic alliance nearly two years ago in a historic shift in policy<\/strong> prompted by Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\nHungary is the only NATO member not yet to have ratified the Nordic country\u2019s accession, with Orban\u2019s ruling party repeatedly delaying a vote, citing grievances over Sweden criticizing Hungary over its rule-of law.<\/p>\n
Orban said on Tuesday that it would be a \u201cpleasure\u201d to welcome Kristersson in Budapest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are planning to discuss how to strengthen the defence and security policy cooperation between Hungary and Sweden, as well as our plans for the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the EU\u2019s Strategic Agenda,\u201d Orban said in a post on X.<\/p>\n
Orban\u2019s Fidesz party proposed earlier on Tuesday that parliament should vote to ratify Sweden\u2019s bid to join NATO on Feb. 26, a move that it would support.<\/p>\n
Fidesz has a huge majority in parliament and it could have approved the Nordic country\u2019s membership at any time since the relevant legislation was submitted to the Hungarian parliament in mid-2022.<\/p>\n
The delay has soured Budapest\u2019s relations with the United States and raised concerns among allies.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe visit on Feb. 23 follows an invitation to Kristersson by Orban, and the two plan to hold a joint press conference, Sweden said.<\/p>\n
Hungary leases Gripen fighter aircraft made by Sweden\u2019s SAAB (SAABb.ST) under a contract signed in 2001.<\/p>\n
Local news site Index.hu has reported this week, citing unnamed sources, that a new defence deal could be signed between Sweden and Budapest. A Hungarian government spokesman has not replied to emailed Reuters questions.<\/p>\n
Follow the
\nCyprus Mail on Google News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fact: Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is scheduled to travel to Budapest on Friday to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban before Hungary’s parliament votes on Sweden’s NATO membership bid the following Monday.<\/p>\n
Fact: Sweden applied to join NATO nearly two years ago following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Fact: Hungary is the last NATO member that has not ratified Sweden’s accession, with delays attributed to criticism from Sweden regarding Hungary’s rule of law.<\/p>\n
Fact: Orban expressed it would be a pleasure to welcome Kristersson and mentioned plans to discuss defense and security policy cooperation, the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the EU\u2019s Strategic Agenda.<\/p>\n
Fact: Orban’s Fidesz party, which has a significant majority in the Hungarian parliament, proposed a vote to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership for February 26 and indicated support for the motion.<\/p>\n
Fact: The delay in ratification has affected Budapest’s relations with the United States and caused concern among allies.<\/p>\n
Fact: The visit by Kristersson follows an invitation from Orban, and they plan to hold a joint press conference.<\/p>\n
Fact: Hungary leases Gripen fighter aircraft from Sweden’s SAAB under a contract that was signed in 2001.<\/p>\n
Fact: There are reports of a potential new defense deal between Sweden and Hungary, but a Hungarian government spokesman has not responded to inquiries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3138,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3,379,201,250,415,148,292,19,827,615,17,544,202,18],"class_list":["post-3137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-cyprus","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-google","tag-government","tag-local","tag-nato","tag-russia","tag-security","tag-sweden","tag-ukraine","tag-united-states","tag-viktor-orban","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/p>\n