Turkey ratifies Sweden's NATO bid; Hungary last obstacle to membership

Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Turkey has finalized legislation ratifying Sweden's accession to NATO, leaving Hungary as the lone holdout keeping the Nordic country from the security umbrella of the 31-nation alliance.

"A key milestone has been reached," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X as Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signed the long-delayed legislation late Thursday after Parliament voted 287-55 to back Sweden's membership.

The move is expected to fast-track the sale of $20 billion worth of American F-16 jets to Turkey, pending congressional approval.

Sweden has been trying to join NATO since Russia invaded Ukraine almost two years ago. It was blocked first by Turkey, which accused Sweden of backing Kurdish separatists, and now stalled by the Hungarian parliament amid bad blood between Stockholm and Budapest.

U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman openly criticized the administration of Prime Minister Viktor Orban in an interview published Friday in The Guardian, expressing exasperation at the delay and accusing Hungary of not being a team player.

"We're disappointed that this has taken so long. And we look forward to Hungary living up to the commitment it's made to the United States and to its other allies.

"An alliance is only as strong as the commitments that we make to each other and the commitments that we keep," Pressman said.

"It's important that the Hungarian government live up to its commitment, and its commitment has been that it will not be the last ally to ratify Sweden's accession."

Budapest has not raised any formal objection to Sweden joining NATO, and lawmakers have said the vote delay is due to criticism leveled by Sweden at the state of democracy in Hungary.

On Wednesday, Orban reaffirmed support for Sweden's bid in a phone call with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, pledging to "continue to urge the Hungarian National Assembly to vote in favor of Sweden's accession and conclude the ratification at the first possible opportunity."

Kristersson is expected to travel to Budapest for talks at the invitation of Orban, but has stressed he will not entertain any attempt to negotiate over Sweden's membership bid.

Finland, which applied to join at the same time as Sweden, achieved full-fledged membership status in April.