Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom are set to visit Washington to finalize Sweden's NATO membership, making it the 32nd member of the alliance. Despite warnings from Russia, Sweden's decision to join NATO comes after years of neutrality and avoiding military alliances. As a NATO member, Sweden will benefit from the alliance's common defense guarantee and play a crucial role in the Baltic region. Russia has expressed opposition and announced unspecified countermeasures in response to Sweden's NATO membership, which was delayed by Turkey and Hungary but is now expected to be completed after Hungary's president formally signed the approval bill.
Hungary's parliament is set to vote on ratifying Sweden's NATO accession, which has been delayed for over 18 months due to opposition from governing party lawmakers. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has close ties with Russia, has cited criticism of Hungary's democracy by Swedish politicians as a reason for the delay. However, a reconciliation between Orbán and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, including a defense industry agreement, is expected to pave the way for Sweden's NATO membership. The vote on Sweden's NATO accession is part of a busy agenda for Hungarian lawmakers, which also includes accepting the resignation of President Katalin Novák and confirming Tamás Sulyok as the new president. Pressure from NATO allies and the EU has been mounting on Hungary to drop its opposition to Sweden's membership.
Hungary's governing Fidesz party is prepared to approve Sweden's NATO accession on Monday, ending over 18 months of delays and frustration from allies. The move comes after mounting pressure, including a bipartisan group of U.S. senators urging Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to act. Orbán had insisted on a visit from Sweden's Prime Minister to address concerns about disrespect towards Hungary's democracy, but indicated that the dispute is nearing a conclusion. Sweden's Defense Minister welcomed the news, and a visit from Ulf Kristersson to Budapest is planned for discussions on defense and security cooperation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has increased pressure on Sweden ahead of their meeting on Monday, where they will discuss Sweden's pending NATO bid. Erdogan questioned how Turkey can trust a country where terrorists roam freely and reiterated his demands for a crackdown on groups deemed terrorist organizations. The meeting aims to convince Turkey to drop its demands and ratify Sweden's membership, but so far, there has been no sign of progress.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Lithuania before the NATO summit to discuss Sweden's bid to join NATO. Turkey has been resisting Sweden's membership, citing concerns about leniency towards groups Turkey considers terrorists. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed optimism for a positive decision but acknowledged the need to bridge the gap between the two countries' positions. Despite pressures from allies, Erdogan has maintained his objections, demanding further action against Kurdish militant groups. Sweden and Finland jointly applied to NATO, with Finland's accession already ratified by Turkey. Hungary is also holding up approval, but it is expected to follow suit once Turkey lifts its objections.
President Biden will meet with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden to strengthen ties between the two countries, discussing security cooperation, Sweden's potential NATO membership, support for Ukraine against Russia, transatlantic coordination on China, and collaboration on climate change and emerging technologies.
