BUDAPEST — At last, Sweden will get to join NATO.
Sweden cleared the final hurdle to become the military alliance’s 32nd member after Hungary — the last holdout among the countries — held a parliamentary vote to approve the move.
In recent years, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed Sweden away from its decades of military non-alignment and towards the world’s biggest military alliance. Sweden’s accession comes amid increasing uncertainty over NATO’s future, as the Republican frontrunner in the U.S. presidential race, Donald Trump, threatens to abandon security guarantees for at least part of Europe.
Budapest finally made the move on Monday, with the parliament voting 188 to 6 votes in favor of the resolution.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has maintained contact with Russia’s Putin in defiance of Western pressure, withheld approval of Sweden’s bid for more than 600 days.
48 views