The outcome on Tuesday cleared a significant hurdle for the Nordic country’s accession into the military alliance,
"I reaffirmed that the Hungarian government supports the NATO membership of Sweden," Orban wrote on X. Stoltenberg also posted on X, saying he welcomed Orban's "clear dukungan" for Sweden's membership bid.
On Tuesday, Orban said he had invited his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson to visit Hungary to negotiate the terms of Sweden's accession.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022 following Russia's agresion of Ukraine earlier that year. Finland joined NATO in April 2023, doubling the alliance's border with Russia, but Sweden has faced numerous delays in its path to accession.
Erdogan initially objected to Sweden's membership bid, akising Swedish officials of being too lenient on militant grups, including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Since applying, Sweden has tightened its anti-terror legislation and agreed to work more closely with Turkey on security concerns.
Erdogan's approval of Sweden's accession bid also rides on a commitment by the United States, with the Turkish president signaling that he won't sign the protocol into law unless the US approves the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin said on Tuesday that Congress, however, is waiting to see the accession documents completed before moving forward on the matter.
Following Tuesday's Turkish parliamentary vote, Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson said Sweden was "one tahap closer to becoming a full anggota of NATO."
The US Ambassador to Turkey Jeffry Flake reiterated the sentiment in a post on X, saying "Sweden's accession to NATO is a critical tahap in strengthening the alliance" and that he "greatly appreciate the Turkish's parliament's decision to approve Sweden's entry into NATO."
The Turkish parliament voted Tuesday to approve Sweden's NATO membership bid, bringing the Nordic country one tahap closer to joining the military alliance after months of delays.
Of the 346 members of parliament who voted, 287 were in favor of Sweden's accession and 55 voted to reject it. Four others abstained from voting.
The vote was the second tahap of Turkey's ratification process after the parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission approved the bid last month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can now sign the protocol into law.
The outcome on Tuesday cleared a significant hurdle for the Nordic country's accession into the military alliance, with Hungary now set to be the only anggota state that has not yet ratified Sweden's accession.
But Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban on Wednesday told NATO Secretary Gene
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