23 Feb 2024 at 14:52
Hungary will buy four fighter planes from Sweden, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson announced on Friday. Orbán spoke of restoring trust between the countries, bringing Sweden closer to NATO membership.
Kristersson traveled to Budapest after Orbán made his visit to Hungary a condition for agreeing to Sweden’s accession to NATO. During the meeting of the counterparts, it was announced that Hungary will buy four JAS39 Gripen fighter aircraft, made by the Swedish company Saab.
“We will not only maintain our air defense capability, but will increase it. This means that our commitment to NATO will be strengthened, and that also applies to our participation in NATO’s joint operations,” Orbán said at a joint press conference with Kristersson.
Kristersson said he welcomed the deal. “As is known, we (Hungary and Sweden, ed.) do not agree on everything. But we do agree that we should cooperate where possible.”
A JAS39 Gripen, made by the Swedish manufacturer Saab. Gripen is the Swedish translation of the griffin. Photo: Getty Images
Hungarian parliament will vote on Sweden’s NATO accession on Monday
After the Russian invasion, Sweden, together with Finland, announced its intention to join NATO. Hungary and Turkey were opposed to Sweden’s admission for a long time. Turkey changed tack earlier this year, after which Orbán also said he was in favor of Swedish membership. The Hungarian parliament will vote on accession on Monday.
Earlier this year, the Hungarian government announced that it was in favor of Swedish membership. Orbán did express the wish that Kristersson would visit his country, which happened on Friday.
If Hungary’s parliament agrees on Monday, it will be up to Hungary’s president to give a final signature. But Hungary currently has no president, because Katalin Novák recently resigned.
László Kövér, die volgens SVT News is critical of Sweden’s accession to NATO, acts as interim president. This will probably not cause any problems.
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2024-02-23 13:52:04
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