Hungary Has Not Decided on Sweden's Membership in NATO

  Hungary's prime minister said his country was in no rush to approve Sweden's proposed membership in NATO. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Monday that currently nothing threatens Sweden's security, and Budapest is in no rush to ratify Stockholm's membership in NATO. In addition, Orban's government claims that Swedish officials are blatantly lying about the state of democracy in Hungary and says some members of parliament do not appear to support Stockholm's membership in NATO. On the other hand, Orban also criticized Kyiv on Monday, saying as long as the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in western Ukraine were not restored, then Hungary would not support Ukraine in any international issues.

 At the same time, Máté Kocsis, Leader of the ruling Fidesz Party in the Hungarian Parliament said Thursday that there is little chance of a parliamentary vote on Sweden's membership this year. Hungary and Turkey are the only NATO members who have not confirmed Sweden's membership in this military pact. Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, public opinion in Finland and Sweden has shifted sharply in favor of membership in NATO. Finland and Sweden, as NATO's closest partners, announced their decision to join NATO, which opened a new front in the conflict between Russia and the West. This occurs when Russia's criticism and warnings about Finland and Sweden's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) continue amidst Western countries' support for this issue.