Hungary's parliament is not in a rush to approve Sweden's NATO membership bid, Prime Minister Victor Orban said Monday.
Orban signaled a further delay in a process that has been stranded in parliament since last year. Sweden's membership bid is on hold pending approval from Hungary and Türkiye.
Hungary is a member of NATO and opposes Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but Orban, in power since 2010, has cultivated close relations with Russia and held back from criticizing President Vladimir Putin. Hungary has refused to ship weapons to Ukraine.
Orban said Hungary was not in a rush to approve Sweden's bid to join NATO and that there was no threat to Sweden's security. Budapest has cited undue allegations by Swedish politicians that it had eroded democratic rights.
"I wonder if there is something urgent that would force us to ratify Sweden's NATO bid. I cannot see any such circumstance," Orban said.
Last week, parliament speaker Laszlo Kover told local television Hungary is not sure it needs to approve Sweden's bid to join NATO.
Türkiye and Hungary have yet to ratify Sweden's bid, and both countries have said they closely coordinating their stance on the matter.
Hungary's parliament will reconvene later this month, but it is not clear yet whether a debate and vote on the Swedish ratification will be on the agenda.
Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership shortly after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022. Although Türkiye approved Finland's membership to NATO, it is waiting for Sweden to fulfill its commitments not to provide shelter to terrorists and supporters of terrorists and not to greenlight their actions. Following Türkiye's move, Szijjarto said his country's ratification of Sweden's NATO bid is now "only a technical question."
