Hungary plans to send a delegation to Sweden and Finland to resolve “political disputes” that have raised doubts among some Hungarian lawmakers of whether to support the two Nordic nations’ applications to join NATO, a senior Hungarian lawmaker has said.
Mate Kocsis, the head of the nationalist Fidesz party’s parliamentary caucus, said during a news briefing that a “serious debate” had emerged within the caucus over the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland, according to state news agency MTI.
Some ruling party lawmakers, he said, resented that “politicians from these countries have insulted Hungary in a crude, unfounded and often vulgar manner in recent years, and now they are asking for a favour”.
A parliamentary delegation will travel to Sweden and Finland seeking to clarify their positions, Kocsis said. The trip was not expected to delay the Hungarian parliament’s debate, set to begin next week, on ratifying the NATO applications, he said.
Hungary is the only NATO member country besides Turkey that has not yet approved Sweden and Finland’s bids to join the Western military alliance.__Al Jazeera
