Hungary’s President, Tamas Sulyok, has signed the measure approving Sweden’s entrance to the NATO military alliance, according to the president’s office, paving the way for Sweden to join the alliance as the 32nd member in the coming days.
According to the report, Stockholm abandoned its non-alignment strategy in favor of increased security within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The remaining requirements, including as depositing accession documents in Washington, are expected to be completed quickly.
Meanwhile, most NATO countries approved Sweden’s bid quickly after its application in May 2022 but Turkey and Hungary delayed the process, unhappy with Sweden’s perceived support for Kurdish separatists and criticism of the Hungarian government.
The membership of Finland last year and shortly Sweden, which has not been at war since 1814, marks NATO’s most substantial expansion since it accepted members from Eastern Europe after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
The membership is a setback for President Vladimir Putin, as Russia now faces a virtually uninterrupted chain of NATO members running from the Black Sea to the Arctic.
Hungarian MPs accepted Sweden’s NATO proposal on February 26 after Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s administration was pressured by NATO partners to comply and secure Sweden’s membership in the alliance.
