USA vs Orban: Senator blocks Himars exports to Hungary if it does not vote for Sweden to join NATO
Senator James E. Risch, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, is blocking a $735 million US arms sale to Hungary as political sanction for the country's refusal to approve Sweden's accession to the NATO, as reported by the Washington Post. This is a very rare measure within NATO that indicates the tensions that are rising between different countries. Also among the weapons to be exported were the Himars multiple missile launchers.
Jim Risk
In a statement to the Washington Post, Risch (Idaho) said Hungary must allow Sweden to join NATO if it wants the weapons package, which includes 24 batteries of HIMARS rocket launchers and more than 100 rockets and pods along with associated parts. and support.
Risch rarely intervenes on the issue of army exports, but this time he wanted to make an exception: "For some time now I have expressed directly to the Hungarian government my concerns about its refusal to advance the vote for Sweden's accession to NATO ”, said Risch. “The fact that it has come in June and has not yet been done, I have decided that the sale of new US military equipment to Hungary will be suspended,” he added.
All significant arms sales require clearance and approval from the chairman and ranking members of the Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committees before the sale is made public by the State Department. Risch's objection prevents the State Department from moving forward with the sale process.
A State Department spokesman declined to comment on the matter, saying the Department does not comment on "current gun sales."
Risch's maneuvers come as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the White House on Tuesday in a bid to coordinate strategies for this summer's NATO summit in Lithuania, where President Biden and Stoltenberg hope to announce progress made in Sweden's application to join the military alliance.
US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman said: “The United States will continue to work tirelessly for closer cooperation with our ally. However, we have real concerns about the strategic decisions Hungary is making – and those concerns are widely shared”.
Relations between the United States and Hungary have become increasingly contentious in recent months as Budapest delays and complicates the Western response to Russia's war in Ukraine. Orban's position, always looking for an agreed way out of the war in Ukraine, has appeared isolated in NATO, even hostile to other countries such as the USA, the United Kingdom and Poland. Senator Risch's move makes the situation even more uncomfortable.
Thanks to our Telegram channel you can stay updated on the publication of new articles from Economic Scenarios.
The article USA vs Orban: Senator blocks Himars' exports to Hungary if it doesn't vote for Sweden to join NATO comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/usa-vs-orban-senatore-blocca-export-di-himars-allungheria-se-non-vota-ladesione-della-svezia-alla-nato/ on Wed, 14 Jun 2023 15:22:54 +0000.