U.S. Congress to send delegation to Hungary pushing Sweden's NATO bid
Photo: A delegation from the U.S. Congress will travel to Hungary to promote Sweden's NATO bid (Getty Images)
A bipartisan delegation from the US Congress will visit Hungary as pressure on Budapest to ratify Sweden's NATO membership continues to mount, reports Reuters.
Hungary is the only NATO country that has not ratified Sweden's application. The process requires the support of all members, straining relations with the United States and causing concern among its allies.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has better ties to Russia than other EU countries and most NATO members, says his government supports Sweden joining the alliance.
The U.S. Embassy said the senators will travel to Hungary on a mission focused on strategic issues facing NATO and Hungary.
U.S. Ambassador David Pressman previously stated that Sweden's accession to NATO is a matter that directly affects the national security of the United States.
Sweden's entry into NATO
Sweden has applied to join NATO in 2022. The only countries that refused to ratify membership were Turkey and Hungary. Recently, however, the Turkish parliament approved Sweden's entry into the Alliance.
The final step is ratification by the Hungarian Parliament. But he is on vacation until the end of February.
Recently, the Hungarian opposition proposed holding an extraordinary session of the parliament in order to ratify Sweden's application. However, the ruling party staged a boycott.
