Balint Szentgallay/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest.
CNN –
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said during a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson on Friday that his country had opened a new phase with Sweden as Budapest prepares to ratify Stockholm's long-delayed NATO bid.
Hungary is the latest member of the military alliance to approve Sweden's application to join NATO, which it submitted in May 2022 after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
Orban, who said last week that the Hungarian parliament would vote on ratification on Monday, met with Kristersson on Friday and announced at the news conference that Hungary had purchased four fighter jets from Sweden.
The Gripen fighter jets would expand Hungary's fleet, Orban said, “thereby significantly increasing our military capabilities and further strengthening our ability to play a role abroad.”
The Hungarian Parliament will meet on Monday to decide on the matter, closing one phase and opening a new one, he said.
“Since we are members of NATO together [will be] We are able to restore full trust in each other,” Orban later added.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in 2022 and Finland joined NATO in April 2023 – doubling the alliance's border with Russia. But Sweden's bid was full of challenges.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opposed Sweden's accession and accused Swedish officials of being too lenient toward militant groups, including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Sweden has since tightened its anti-terrorism legislation and pledged closer cooperation with Turkey on security matters.
Orban, considered the EU leader closest to Russian President Vladimir Putin, initially suggested he was not opposed to Sweden joining the bloc before trying to stall him. Katalin Cseh, a Hungarian member of the European Parliament, said last year that Orban's blocking of the Swedish offer was “quite simply another favor for Vladimir Putin.”
But after Turkey approved Sweden's request, Orban finally appeared to give the green light to Sweden's NATO application, saying in January that he had invited Kristersson to visit Hungary to negotiate the terms of Sweden's entry.