No deal with Turkey on Swedish NATO bid -Hungary's Orban

[December 21, 2023]  By Gergely Szakacs and Krisztina Than
 
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - There is no Hungarian-Turkish deal with regards to the ratification of Sweden's bid for NATO membership as it will be up to Hungarian parliament to decide when to vote on this, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a news briefing on Thursday. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban holds an annual international media briefing in Budapest, Hungary, December 21, 2023. REUTERS/Marton Monus/File Photo

Orban said there was no great willingness among ruling party lawmakers in Budapest to approve Sweden's bid. Sweden's application has been held up by Turkey and Hungary's refusal to support it.

Orban said in September that Hungary was in no rush to ratify Sweden's NATO accession, flagging a further delay in a process that has been stranded in parliament since last year.

"There is no Hungarian-Turkish agreement" on Sweden's NATO bid, he said, adding that approval "will be decided only by Hungarian parliament...when lawmakers decide the time has come for it. They don't have a great willingness to make this decision."

Budapest has cited what it called undue allegations by Swedish politicians that it had eroded democratic rights as a reason for the delay in approving Sweden's bid.

Hungary's parliament, currently on a winter break, will resume its work some time around mid-February.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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