Orban: Hungary supports Sweden's NATO bid and urges parliament to ratify membership

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced the government's support for Sweden's NATO membership. He made this statement on X (formerly Twitter) following a conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

To join NATO, unanimous approval from all member states is required. On January 23, the Turkish parliament approved Sweden's NATO application, leaving Hungary as the only country yet to ratify Sweden's entry into the Alliance.

The Hungarian Prime Minister stated that during his talk with Stoltenberg, he reaffirmed the country's governmental support for Sweden's NATO membership.

"I also emphasized that we will continue to urge the Hungarian National Assembly to vote for Sweden's entry and complete the ratification at the earliest opportunity," he stated.

On January 23, Orban invited his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson to Budapest, hours before the Turkish assembly ratified Sweden's application.

Commenting on this, Agoston Samuel Mraz, head of the Nezopont analytical center advising the Hungarian government, told Bloomberg, "This is undoubtedly a sharp turn aimed at preparing Hungary's ratification of the Swedish application."

Following the Turkish parliament's approval of Sweden's application, the German Foreign Ministry also called on Hungary to "complete the remaining steps so we can welcome our Swedish friends into the Alliance."

Read also: Turkish parliament approves Sweden's NATO membership application – Bloomberg

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced the government's support for Sweden's NATO membership.