Hungary OKs Sweden's bid to join NATO
Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary on Friday declared an end to a monthslong spat with Sweden over the expansion of NATO, saying that a visit by his Swedish counterpart had rebuilt trust and paved the way for the Hungarian parliament to vote Monday to ratify the Nordic nation's membership in the alliance.
“We are ready to fight for each other, to give our lives for each other,” Orban said at a joint news conference in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, with the visiting Swedish leader, Ulf Kristersson. Hungary has been the last holdout in formally endorsing Sweden's NATO membership.
The sudden warming of relations between the two countries followed a decision by Sweden to provide Hungary with four Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets in addition to the 14 its air force uses, and a promise that Saab, maker of the warplanes, will open an artificial intelligence research center in Hungary. Hungary had been stalling for 19 months on ratifying Sweden's admission to NATO, a delay that had puzzled and exasperated the United States and other members of the military alliance.
Orban and other Hungarian officials have given differing explanations for the foot-dragging. These have included complaints over Swedish accusations of democratic backsliding in Hungary under Orban; teaching materials critical of Hungary in Swedish schools; and comments that Kristersson made years before taking office.
While Orban insisted Friday that Sweden's offer of new fighter jets and a research institute was not part of a deal over NATO membership, media outlets controlled by his governing Fidesz party trumpeted the increased military cooperation with Sweden as a triumph for Hungarian negotiating tactics.
“Today's meeting is a milestone in a long process,” Orban said, “This long process can also be called the process of rebuilding trust, and we can mark the end of this phase today.”
After months of complaining that Sweden had shown insufficient respect for his country, Orban praised it Friday as a trusted partner. He noted that it had taken in many Hungarian refugees after Soviet troops crushed an anti-communist uprising in Budapest in 1956, and that it had strongly supported Hungary's 2004 entry into the European Union.
Kristersson's visit to Budapest reversed his earlier position that he would to travel to Budapest for talks with Orban only after the Hungarian parliament had voted to approve his country's NATO membership.
Swedish-made Gripen warplanes, provided under a lease agreement, form the backbone of the Hungarian air force. Pro-government news outlets in Hungary reported in recent days that Orban was pushing for a better deal on the aircraft as part of his negotiations over Sweden's NATO membership. As Kristersson arrived in Budapest, Saab announced that it had signed a contract with the Swedish state to deliver four additional fighter jets to Hungary.
Some diplomats and analysts saw Orban's sudden focus on expanded military cooperation with Sweden as a face-saving way out of an impasse that critics say had damaged Hungary's reputation as a reliable ally and secured no clear benefits in return.