The Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, has confirmed that his country and Turkey will continue to coordinate their policies regarding the approval of Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), following a meeting between the leaders of the two nations, as reported by Bloomberg.
The Hungarian official stated on Sunday that since the national legislative councils in Budapest and Ankara are on vacation, the issue of ratifying Sweden’s membership in the defensive alliance will be discussed in the autumn, adding that Budapest and Ankara “agreed to remain in contact.”
The Foreign Minister’s statement came after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán hosted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Budapest.
Hungary has not voted for the ratification of Sweden’s accession to the alliance, siding with Turkey, which, last July, withdrew its initial refusal and had long stalled the process. This was due to Ankara’s accusations that Stockholm is overly lenient with Kurdish activists or followers of Gülen who have taken refuge in the Scandinavian nation. This has been one of the reasons for the delay in Sweden’s accession to the alliance.
The Turkish President had previously declared that ratifying Sweden’s NATO membership “will not be possible before October after the summer recess of the Turkish parliament.”
For his part, the Hungarian Foreign Minister stated that the ratification is “now just a technical issue.”
The talks between the Turkish and Hungarian sides also focused on strengthening cooperation in the energy sector. Hungary obtains a significant portion of its gas via the TurkStream gas pipeline, which transports Russian gas across the Black Sea, according to Agence France-Presse.
Both Budapest and Ankara highlighted their intention to deepen their “strategic partnership”, with an official declaration expected during another scheduled visit by Erdoğan on December 18th.
Erdoğan’s visit is part of a series of diplomatic meetings organized by the Hungarian Prime Minister in Budapest, coinciding with the World Athletics Championships that commenced last Saturday and in line with national holiday celebrations.
