 (Illustration photo: Reuters) |
The Swedish government hailed President Tamas Sulyok's action, calling it a very positive development.
Hungary's parliament approved Sweden's NATO accession last Monday, clearing the last hurdle. Hungary was the last of the 31 NATO members to approve Sweden's bid to join the alliance. Sweden will officially become the 32nd member of NATO at its next summit in Washington DC in July.
Along with Finland, Sweden applied to join NATO 3 months after fighting began between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, marking a major change in the neutrality policy of those two countries. Finland became a NATO member last April, but Sweden’s accession was initially opposed by Turkey and Hungary.