Viktor Orban says he is in favor of letting Sweden and Finland into NATO, but that several of his party colleagues are less enthusiastic, partly because of what he refers to as the Swedes’ and Finns’ spreading of lies about Hungary.
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24. feb. 2023 08:51 – Updated 24 Feb. 2023 08:51
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says he is positive about letting Sweden and Finland into the alliance. Hungary’s elected representatives will vote on the issue in March.
In a radio interview on Friday, Viktor Orban says that he has urged his party members in the National Assembly to give the green light to the two applicant countries.
– The representatives are not very enthusiastic, says Orban according to several Hungarian media’s reproduction of the statements.
Some Fidesz politicians are skeptical that NATO will have a much longer border with Russia if Finland joins the alliance. Others have objections to the fact that Sweden and Finland regularly criticize shortcomings in the conditions of democracy and the rule of law in Hungary.
– Let’s have a chat with the Swedes and Finns, because it doesn’t work for these countries to spread lies about us, Orban says in the radio interview. He adds that Hungary still has a moral duty to let the two countries into the heat as Nato opened Hungarian membership after the fall of the communist government.
Hungary is the only NATO country apart from Turkey that still has not ratified Sweden’s and Finland’s registration. The processing of the case in the Hungarian National Assembly has dragged on, but it has been said that there may be a vote in March.
