Orban Escalates Standoff Over Sweden’s Accession to NATO – Yahoo News

(Bloomberg) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban escalated a standoff with Western allies over Swedens NATO accession after a senior US lawmaker called for potential sanctions against the lone holdout.

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Orbans lawmakers wont allow a parliamentary vote on ratifying Swedens bid until the Nordic countrys leader visits Budapest to meet with his Hungarian counterpart, ATV television reported, citing the ruling Fidesz party. Theyll also boycott a special session the opposition called for Monday on the accession, ATV said on its website.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom declined to comment on the report. Fideszs parliamentary group didnt respond to a phone call or email from Bloomberg.

Orbans invitation for Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to visit Hungary was extended last month in what was seen as a face-saving step for the nationalist leader after he broke a pledge to ratify Swedens accession before Turkey.

Patience over Orbans obstructionism is wearing thin both inside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. On Thursday, Orban finally dropped his opposition to a 50 billion ($54.4 billion) EU aid package for Ukraine after becoming the only of the blocs 27 leaders to veto it in December.

Hungary is the least reliable NATO member, US Senator Ben Cardin, the Democratic chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement on Thursday. He urged the Biden administration to consider imposing sanctions on Hungary for corruption and also to weigh the possibility of scrapping its participation in a US visa-waiver program.

Kristersson met Orban on Thursday on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels, but said he preferred to come to Budapest only after Hungarys parliament ratified Swedens NATO bid.

Hes been keen to avoid any optics of negotiating with Orban over his countrys accession, after Sweden received an invitation last year to join the military alliance. Swedens membership is seen as crucial for bolstering NATOs ability to defend its eastern flank nearly two years after Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Orban has sought to attribute the delay to his own lawmakers, who he said have been hurt by Swedish criticism over the erosion of democracy in Hungary. In fact, Fidesz has a supermajority in the chamber and the party is tightly controlled by the prime minister.

--With assistance from Niclas Rolander.

(Updates with Swedish foreign minister in third paragraph, context throughout.)

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Orban Escalates Standoff Over Sweden's Accession to NATO - Yahoo News