Hungary's government declines offer to meet U.S. senators seeking approval for Sweden's NATO bid
CTV
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators made an official visit to Hungary's capital Sunday and called on the nationalist government to immediately approve Sweden's request to join NATO.
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators made an official visit to Hungary's capital Sunday and called on the nationalist government to immediately approve Sweden's request to join NATO.
Hungary is the only one of NATO's 31 existing members not to have ratified Sweden's bid. The Hungarian government faces mounting pressure to act after delaying the move for more than 18 months since admitting a new country to the military alliance requires unanimous approval.
The visiting senators announced they would submit a joint resolution to Congress condemning alleged democratic backsliding in Hungary and urging the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban to lift its block on Sweden's trans-Atlantic integration.
"With accession, Hungary and your prime minister will be doing a great service to freedom-loving nations worldwide," Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest.
The resolution, first reported early Sunday by The Associated Press, was authored by Tillis and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat. Joining them in the delegation to Budapest was Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut.
Shaheen said it was "disappointing" that no members of the Hungarian government had accepted invitations to meet the delegation but she was "hopeful and optimistic" Sweden's accession would be submitted for ratification when Hungarian lawmakers reconvene on Feb. 26.
Murphy said the refusal of Orban's government to meet was "strange and concerning," but that the onus was on the long-serving leader to push for a vote.
