Orban invites Swedish PM for NATO accession talks
Viktor Orban (Getty Images)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited the Prime Minister of Sweden to visit his country and engage in negotiations regarding Sweden's entry into the NATO alliance. Budapest and Ankara have not yet ratified Stockholm's application.
"Today I sent an invitation letter to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for a visit to Hungary to negotiate on Sweden’s NATO accession," Orban wrote.
Troubled country
Sweden's entry into NATO has been expected for about a year and a half. Earlier, Stockholm planned to join the Alliance together with Finland. Both countries reconsidered their policy of non-alignment after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined NATO in June 2023. Sweden's application was ratified by all NATO countries except Türkiye and Hungary.
Despite Budapest's promise that it would not be the last to ratify Sweden's application, it seems inevitable as Türkiye is approaching approval.
Earlier, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Hungary's approval through parliamentary ratification is a mere formality, as the matter has already been discussed and resolved in committees.
Recently, parliamentary voting has been postponed several times. Hungarian politicians demand explanations regarding criticism of the country's democratic development, similar to concerns expressed by many other European politicians.
