Published 23 January 2024 at 16.27
Domestic. Foreign Minister Tobias Billström dismisses Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's invitation to “negotiate” about Swedish NATO membership.
– I see no reason to negotiate, says Billström to Ekot.
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Viktor Orbán announced today on X that he has sent a formal invitation to Hungary to Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. This is with the aim of “negotiating Sweden's NATO membership”.
According to Ekot, the letter to Kristersson describes the complex relations between the two countries, but there is nothing about negotiations.
This is something that Foreign Minister Tobias Billström takes note of.
– I probably want to put it on the record that X can sometimes be complicated, he tells Ekot.
Billström continues:
– The most important thing for us is that Hungary continues to ratify as soon as possible. We will analyze the content of this letter. The most important thing for Sweden is to have a good dialogue with Hungary and there is no shortage of things to talk about, which is also mentioned in the letter.
The Swedish foreign minister states that he sees no “reason to negotiate in this team”.
– In connection with the NATO summit in Madrid, Sweden was given invitee status, i.e. invited to NATO, also by Hungary.
On the other hand, according to Tobias Billström, there are other things to discuss with Hungary, such as economic and military cooperation.
– We look forward to becoming NATO allies, and even that is a matter in itself to discuss, Billström says cockily.