Hungary’s parliament has voted overwhelmingly to approve Sweden’s application to join NATO. That approval removes the final block to NATO accession for Sweden, which turned aside from its long tradition of neutrality when it began seeking NATO membership in response to Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Sweden’s neighbor Finland abandoned its policy of military neutrality, as well, and became a NATO member in 2023.
The United States welcomes the vote by the Hungarian parliament. In a statement National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan urged the Hungarian government to sign and deposit the instrument of ratification “without delay.” He noted, “Like Finland, which recently joined our Alliance, Sweden is a strong democracy with a highly capable military that shares our values and vision for the world.”
Speaking before a meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called February 26, the day the Hungarian parliament voted to approve Sweden’s admission to NATO, “auspicious.” He said Sweden’s joining the Alliance “underscores yet again the strategic debacle that Putin’s invasion or reinvasion has produced for Russia:”
“A NATO Alliance that is both stronger and larger with the accession of both Finland and now Sweden; the Ukrainian people more unified than ever, and unified in opposition to Russia and everything that Putin has done since 2014; and a Europe that has shown extraordinary solidarity both with Ukraine and with the imperative of dealing with the threat and aggression posed by Russia, [including in the space of two years by moving itself off of energy dependence on Russia extraordinarily quickly, extraordinarily effectively]; and of course, the work that all of us are doing to make sure that Ukraine will stand on its own two feet militarily, economically, democratically for many, many years to come,” he said.
“We see time and again that Mr. Putin has managed to precipitate everything he said he was trying to prevent. And today’s historic work by the Hungarian parliament only underscores that.”
National Security Advisor Sullivan declared, “Having Sweden as a NATO Ally will make the United States and our Allies even safer. NATO is the most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world, and it is as critical today to ensuring the security of our citizens, as it was 75 years ago when our Alliance was founded out of the wreckage of World War II.”
