Hungary invites Sweden to negotiate on NATO bid

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Hungary has invited Sweden to negotiate on Stockholm’s NATO accession bid, the Hungarian prime minister said on Tuesday.

“Today I sent an invitation letter to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for a visit to Hungary to negotiate on Sweden’s NATO accession,” Victor Orban said on X.

Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022, abandoning their longstanding non-alignment policies, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine, which started in February that year.

Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia, became a member of NATO on April 4, 2023, bringing the number of member states to 31.

Sweden’s membership, however, is still pending ratification by member countries Türkiye and Hungary.

Turkish officials have repeatedly stressed that it is up to Turkish lawmakers to decide to ratify Sweden’s accession or not.