Hungary's parliament speaker on Sweden's NATO entry: Requires a higher level of trust

Hungary will not rush to ratify Sweden's NATO membership application, as declared by Laszlo Kover, the Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament, citing a lack of "sense of urgency."

He emphasized that NATO is a defensive alliance and relationships between countries require trust, as reported by Index.

Kover said that some parties in the parliament might attempt to call for an extraordinary session to approve Sweden’s entry into NATO.

"I do not doubt that one of the opposition parties, which do not always serve Hungarian interests, will try to convene it, possibly in vain. Otherwise, I do not feel any urgency and do not think there is any exceptional situation," he stated.

The speaker said that NATO is a defensive alliance where countries take on the responsibility of entering into military conflict in case of an attack on one of the allies. Therefore, relationships between countries require more trust than what currently exists.

"Let's now consider how Sweden has behaved towards Hungary in the past, and in the last few months, since their entry was on the agenda, with what arrogance and disregard they have treated us. It's not entirely clear to me whether they realize what the alliance they want to join actually means," Kover stated.

Furthermore, Kover accused Sweden and Finland of "slandering the democratically elected government in Hungary."

"The Swedes and Finns have also gone so far in their slander of Hungary, the democratically elected government, and in narrowing its room for maneuver, that this cannot be dismissed as a mere coincidence," he added.

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