Hungary pledges support for Turkiye's decision on Sweden's NATO bid

Hungary’s foreign minister yesterday said his country will back Turkiye’s decision on Sweden’s bid to join NATO, Anadolu reported.

“If there is a shift [in Turkiye’s decision], then of course we will keep the promise that Hungary will not hold up any country in terms of membership,” Peter Szijjarto told a news conference in Budapest which was broadcast on his Facebook page.

Szijjarto added that he has been in touch with the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan about the matter.

Sweden, together with Finland, applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched a war on Ukraine in February 2022.

Although Turkiye approved Finland’s membership to NATO, it is waiting for Sweden to abide by a trilateral memorandum signed in June 2022 in Madrid to address Ankara’s security concerns on terrorism.

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In June, Szijjarto said Turkiye and Hungary have agreed to “reciprocally inform each other” about their steps on Sweden’s accession to NATO.

“I have discussed this issue with my new colleague in Turkiye, [Foreign] Minister [Hakan] Fidan,” the Hungarian foreign minister told Anadolu in an interview in New York.

“We agreed that we will reciprocally inform each other about possible future steps in this regard in both of our countries,” he added.