U.S. Congress Retaliates Against Conservative Hungary for Delaying Sweden’s NATO Membership
The United States Congress has blocked a $735mn arms sale to Hungary, which includes 24 HIMARS missile launchers, because of Budapest’s delay in ratifying Sweden’s Nato membership, Hungarian media reported on June 14.
According to The Washington Post, Hungary expressed interest in purchasing 24 HIMARS missile launchers, used extensively in the Ukraine war and sold widely to other US allies. Earlier this year, on the first anniversary of the conflict, the US Congress approved the delivery of state-of-the-art long-range artillery systems to Poland.
Republican Senator James E. Risch, the influential Republican leader of the Foreign Relations Committee, has blocked the sale to Hungary, stating that Budapest must approve Sweden’s Nato accession before obtaining the weapons. He expressed his concerns to the Hungarian government directly over its position.
Sweden’s application has been held up by only two Nato members, Turkey and Hungary. The ruling Fidesz party first claimed that parliament had other more important legislation to deal with, but later the narrative changed, saying that Sweden was spreading “blatant falsehoods” about the erosion of democracy and violations of the rule of law in Hungary and this argument was used as a pretext to delay the procedure.
Critics said the government was simply blackmailing its European allies in an attempt to unlock frozen EU funds. The strategy has backfired and has only strained the country’s ties with its Western allies, leading to further isolation of Viktor Orban’s radical rightwing government. (Read more from “U.S. Congress Retaliates Against Conservative Hungary for Delaying Sweden’s NATO Membership” HERE)
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