Hungary Delays Vote on Sweden's NATO Membership in Parliament

The Hungarian Parliament has postponed the vote on ratifying Sweden's application for NATO membership, as reported by the Associated Press (AP) on Wednesday.

The opposition 'Democratic Coalition' party stated that the ruling 'Fidesz' party will not bring the matter to vote next week, when the final part of the parliament's spring session will take place. Meanwhile, AP does not clarify when the vote on this topic could occur.

Turkey and Hungary are the two NATO countries that have yet to ratify Stockholm's membership in the alliance. In particular, Ankara criticizes Swedish authorities for insufficient cooperation in combating Kurdish groups, which Turkey considers terrorist organizations.

Budapest had previously announced its support for Sweden's desire to join NATO. At the same time, the Hungarian government accused Swedish politicians of spreading inaccuracies regarding the state of Hungary's political system.

Earlier, the Hungarian Parliament delayed the ratification of Finland's NATO membership application but quickly approved it when Turkey decided to grant permission to Helsinki. Finland officially joined the alliance in early April.

On Wednesday, it was reported that officials from Turkey, Sweden, and Finland will meet on July 6 to attempt to remove obstacles to Stockholm's NATO membership.