Stockholm has just taken a big step towards NATO, but not yet the last. With the favorable vote of the Turkish Parliament, Hungary now constitutes the final step for Sweden to join the Atlantic Alliance.
The green light given Tuesday by the Turkish parliament by an overwhelming majority puts an end to 20 months of negotiations which tested the patience of Ankara’s Western allies, eager to form a united front against Moscow.
Washington welcomes Turkish vote
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed “one more step” towards his country’s membership in NATO. Just like the head of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, who also called on Hungary to complete its “national ratification as quickly as possible”.
Washington also welcomed the vote in favor of Stockholm, a “solid and competent partner whose membership in NATO strengthens both the United States and the transatlantic defense alliance,” said Jake Sullivan, national security advisor. of the White House.
Orban demands “respect”
“The upcoming accession of Sweden, just like that of Finland which has already taken place, will further strengthen” NATO, argued the spokesperson for the German government, Steffen Hebestreit. It is “a direct reaction to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine,” he recalled. And for the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide, Sweden’s membership in NATO will make the Nordic countries “more secure”.
Hungary therefore now remains the only holdout. For months, Viktor Orban has been demanding “respect” from Stockholm, whose policy of “denigration” and his regular remarks on the authoritarian drift of the Central European country he denounces.
In the absence of a signal from them and under pressure from his NATO partners, the nationalist leader therefore took the lead. “Today I sent a letter to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson inviting him to Hungary to discuss Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance,” he wrote on X. In his letter , he evokes the need to “build solid mutual trust” through “more intense political dialogue”.
The link between Budapest and Moscow
The response came a few hours later. “I see no reason to negotiate,” responded the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs. “At the Madrid summit last year, Hungary […] granted Sweden guest status” with a view to joining NATO, without reservations, underlined Tobias Billström. On the other hand, he said he was ready for “discussions”, noting “the many common points” and “military cooperation” between the two countries.
Hungary has certainly given its support in principle but has been dragging its feet for months. Some experts see it as a strategy of blackmail by Viktor Orban to obtain concessions from the EU, others a sign of his proximity to Vladimir Putin.