Hungary backs new NATO expansion – Orban — RT World News
Türkiye has ratified Sweden's membership application, leaving Budapest as the last to refuse
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Wednesday that the Hungarian government supports Sweden's accession to NATO, and will soon set a date for a vote on ratification in Parliament. The move will allow Stockholm to become a member of the US-led military bloc after nearly two years of delay.
Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022, citing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but faced opposition from Turkey and Hungary due to ongoing disputes with the two countries. The cluster rules require the approval of all members before it can accept new members.
““Just finished a phone call with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,” Orban said on X (formerly Twitter). “I reiterated that the Hungarian government supports Sweden’s NATO membership. I also stressed that we will continue to urge the Hungarian National Assembly to vote in favor of Sweden’s accession and complete ratification at the first possible opportunity.
Budapest accused Stockholm of informing 'Blatant lies' On Hungarian democracy as part of the ongoing conflict within the European Union. As of Wednesday, the Hungarian Parliament had not put a ratification vote on its agenda.
Turkish lawmakers voted to approve Sweden's membership on Tuesday, sending the draft ratification bill to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's desk. Ankara had serious disagreements with Stockholm over human rights, terrorism and arms trade, which clashed with NATO plans for Sweden and Finland to join the bloc together.
The two Scandinavian countries abandoned their long-standing policy of non-alignment after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, seeing it as a threat to their security. When Finland officially joined the bloc in April 2023, NATO doubled the length of its border with Russia.
Moscow said it had no problem with either country until then, but would have to respond to their joining NATO. Russia has repeatedly insisted that the bloc's eastward expansion, which began in 1999, poses a threat to Russian national security and one of the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine.
Orban has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine, and said he would prevent any attempts by Kiev to join NATO or the European Union, because that would mean… “bring war” In both organizations.
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