Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in a telephone conversation that the Hungarian government supports Sweden’s membership in the military alliance.
Orbán added that he also told Stoltenberg that he would continue to urge the Hungarian national assembly to vote in favour of Sweden’s accession to NATO and conclude the ratification at the first possible opportunity. On Wednesday, Orban said in the post on X:
“I reaffirmed that the Hungarian government supports the NATO-membership of Sweden.”
After the conversation, Stoltenberg said Orbán and his government clearly supported Sweden’s membership in NATO. Stoltenberg wrote on X:
“I look forward to the ratification as soon as parliament reconvenes.”
Turkey’s parliament approved Sweden’s membership in the Western military alliance on Tuesday, leaving Hungary as the only NATO member yet to ratify the accession.
NATO chief Stoltenberg, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and the German Foreign Office were among those urging Orbán to act quickly, with Berlin saying it was “long overdue” for Hungary to ratify Sweden’s accession. The alliance’s expansion is expected to strengthen its northern reach and boost its ability to defend its eastern flank, which has doubled in length since Finland joined last April.
Hungary’s parliament is expected to reconvene on Feb. 26 from its winter recess, Magyar Nemzet newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing the leadership of Orbán’s ruling party.
