x

WORLD

Erdogan to Visit Budapest Next Month as Turkey and Hungary Hold Up Sweden’s Membership in NATO

November 28, 2023

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Hungary’s capital in December, his second trip to Budapest this year at a time when both countries remain the only NATO members not to have ratified Sweden’s accession into the trans-Atlantic military alliance.

During his visit on Dec. 18, Erdogan will take part in a meeting of the Hungarian-Turkish Strategic Cooperation Council, and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Bertalan Havasi, the press chief for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, told local news outlet ATV in a report broadcast on Monday.

Havasi didn’t immediately respond to further questions from The Associated Press on Tuesday about the trip.

It wasn’t clear whether Erdogan and Orbán would discuss Sweden’s NATO membership, which has been delayed for more than a year by Hungary and Turkey. All 31 NATO allies must endorse the accession of a new member.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban delivers his speech after he was re-elected as party president at the election of officials congress of the ruling Hungarian Fidesz party in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP)

Erdogan’s government has delayed Sweden’s ratification over accusations that Stockholm is too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups Turkey considers to be security threats. But Hungary has expressed no such concrete concerns.

The delays have frustrated other NATO allies, who were swift in accepting Sweden and Finland into the alliance after the neighboring countries dropped their longstanding military neutrality following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Finland became a NATO member in April after Turkey and Hungary were the last two members of the alliance to ratify the Nordic nation’s accession.

The Turkish leader submitted a protocol to Turkey’s parliament in October to approve Sweden’s admission, but a debate on the matter in the foreign affairs committee was adjourned earlier this month without reaching a decision. It wasn’t known when the parliament will resume the debate.

Orbán’s government has alleged that Swedish politicians have told “blatant lies” about the condition of Hungary’s democracy, but hasn’t given specific conditions for approving Sweden’s accession.

Hungary’s governing Fidesz party has refused proposals by opposition parties to hold an immediate vote on the matter, leading some critics to allege that Orbán is following Ankara’s timetable for ratification.

Orbán has said recently that Hungary is in “no rush” to ratify Sweden’s accession, and a senior Fidesz lawmaker said that he saw “little chance” that parliament would vote on the matter this year.

 

RELATED

TOKYO (AP) — The recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize is a fast-dwindling group of atomic bomb survivors who are facing down the shrinking time they have left to convey the firsthand horror they witnessed 79 years ago.

herald

Top Stories

Columnists

A pregnant woman was driving in the HOV lane near Dallas.

General News

NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.

Video

1 Person Dies and 12 are Rescued after Elevator Malfunctions at Colorado Gold Mine Tourist Site

DENVER (AP) — One person was killed and 12 people were rescued after being trapped for about six hours at the bottom of a former Colorado gold mine when an elevator malfunctioned at the tourist site, authorities said.

NEW YORK – Artist Residency Center Athens (ARCAthens) shared an update on its latest developments including that the Spring 2025 Athens Residency applications are now open.

Back in 2016, a scientific research organization incorporated in Delaware and based in Mountain View, California, applied to be recognized as a tax-exempt charitable organization by the Internal Revenue Services.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris plans to release a report Saturday on her medical history and health that a senior campaign aide said would show “she possesses the physical and mental resiliency” needed to serve as president.

CHICAGO (AP) — Dominique Davenport was waiting for a ride home after getting off the MetroLink light rail one night in East St.

espa

Enter your email address to subscribe

Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g. [email protected]

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter.