Orban To Discuss Fighter Jet Deal w/Swedish PM Ahead Of NATO Approval

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban hosts his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson in Budapest today. The meeting comes ahead of the expected final ratification of Sweden's NATO accession by the Hungarian National Assembly, set to take place on Monday 26 Feb. Rather than focusing on the contentious claimsfrom Orban "that Sweden had insulted Hungary by speaking out against his abuse of rule of law", Bloomberg reportsthat talks today are likely to focus on an arms deal between the two nations.

• BBG: "Hungary operates 14 Gripens under a lease agreement that expires 2026, and discussions have been underway to extend and expand that deal."
• Defense News reports that the accession of Sweden into NATO could also smooth the provision of Swedish-made Saab Gripen JAS39 jets to Ukraine. Stockholm has been waiting until NATO ratification before sendig the jets. Saab CMO Mikael Franzen told Defense News "“We expect that if such a decision was granted approval by the Swedish government, it would be a fairly rapid process to send the aircraft to Ukraine. We are moving in the right direction currently,”