White House Anticipates Sweden's Swift NATO Membership

After talks with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Monday, November 6, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed confidence in the rapid progress regarding Sweden's NATO membership. This information was conveyed in a statement on the U.S. Department of State's website.

According to Antony Blinken, the United States is very pleased with the fact that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed the ratification protocols for Sweden's NATO accession and sent them to the parliament.

"I am confident that we will witness further developments in this process. There is a shared commitment to ensuring Sweden's entry into the Alliance, which exists both in Turkey and within our own ranks. I hope that the procedure will be completed," stated the Secretary of State.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in turn, emphasized that Sweden should become a full-fledged member of the Alliance by the end of November.

Stockholm applied for NATO membership in 2022. Currently, all NATO member countries have ratified the application, except for Hungary and Turkey. However, on October 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed that Sweden's membership application be considered by the parliament.

The issue of ratifying Sweden's NATO membership remains unresolved in Hungary as well. On October 24, the Hungarian parliament once again failed to vote on Sweden's NATO membership application. Members of the ruling party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Fidesz, have been abstaining from voting on Sweden's application since July 2022, citing Swedish concerns about the state of democracy in Hungary.

On July 31, Fidesz lawmakers also refused to ratify Sweden's NATO membership application by abstaining en masse during the parliamentary session. The next vote on Sweden's NATO membership may occur during the session that commenced on November 6.

It's worth noting that Hungary is currently blocking not only Sweden's NATO membership but also the allocation of EU assistance to Ukraine. Prime Minister Orban has expressed negative views on the EU as a whole, likening EU membership to Soviet occupation.

In response to this comparison, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, stated that no one is forcing Hungary to be a member of the European Union.