Hungarian Conservative

In a rare show of good faith and positivity, US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman attended a joint exercise of American and Hungarian soldiers in Szentes, Hungary. At the event, he emphasized the importance of the military alliance between the two nations.

In his regular Friday morning interview PM Orbán discussed, among other topics, the upcoming ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession, and the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A bipartisan US Senate delegation visited Budapest over the weekend to exert pressure on the Hungarian parliament to advance the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership. The senators also held consultations with opposition politicians and NGO representatives, and are planning to propose a resolution condemning Hungary.

Citing concerns over the delay of the ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession, approving additional aid to Ukraine, and the Sovereignty Protection Act, Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland has proposed the possibility of the United States imposing sanctions on Hungary as a punishment.

The government does not intend to hinder Sweden’s NATO membership, the Hungarian foreign minister stressed, noting that he has been in continuous consultation with Turkish leaders regarding both the Swedish and earlier, the Finnish NATO accession. Regarding the Ukrainian conflict, Szijjártó stated that as a neighbouring country, Hungary is in a unique position due to the large Hungarian community living in Transcarpathia.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated at a press conference on Tuesday that Hungary will keep its promise of not holding up Sweden’s joining of NATO, thus it is ready to back it once Turkey is. However, a recent incident of Quran burning in Stockholm may set the process back for some time again.