Sweden will not negotiate with Hungary on NATO, but much to discuss, PM Kristersson says

Sweden will not negotiate with Hungary over its application to join NATO, which Budapest is the sole member of the alliance to yet ratify, Swedish Prime Minster Ulf Kristersson said on Friday.

Sweden will not negotiate with Hungary over its application to join NATO, which Budapest is the sole member of the alliance to yet ratify, Swedish Prime Minster Ulf Kristersson said on Friday. Sweden, along with Finland, applied to join the alliance in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But its membership has been held up by Turkey and Hungary.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan signed the accession documents on Thursday, leaving Hungary now the final hurdle in Sweden's path to joining the 31-member alliance. The Swedish and Hungarian prime ministers will meet next week at the European Council meeting in Brussels, but Kristersson said Sweden would not make any new promises on NATO.

"No demands that are related to NATO membership - that's not on the table," Kristersson told Sweden's TV4. However, he said the two countries had much to discuss, including cooperation inside NATO, Hungary's upcoming EU presidency, support for Ukraine and how to get the widest synergies from their airforces sharing the same fighter jet programme - Sweden's JAS Gripen.

Orban has been angered by Swedish criticism over democratic developments under his government. He has invited Kristersson to Budapest for negotiations over NATO. But he also repeated on Wednesday that his country supports Swedish membership. Kristersson said he did not know when Sweden would become NATO's 32nd member, but expected it to be "very soon".