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Sweden has done nothing to increase confidence that it deserves NATO membership and has hinted that membership is not a priority for the country, an adviser to Hungary's prime minister said Thursday.
Sweden applied to join the alliance in May 2022 after Russian aggression in Ukraine began, but the membership process has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary.
All NATO members must approve the request of new countries that want to join the alliance.
Ratification for Sweden has been blocked in the Hungarian parliament for more than a year, as nationalists in Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling party say there is no threat to Sweden's security and have expressed displeasure at Sweden's accusations that Hungary is eroding. democracy, which Budapest has called unnecessary.
Sweden "is not taking any steps to strengthen the trust to have relations of allies and friends," Gergely Gulyas, Mr. Orban's chief of staff, told a news conference.
For this reason, he added, "I come to the conclusion that it is not a priority for Sweden to join NATO immediately".
The Swedish Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Gulyas suggested that the Swedish foreign minister or prime minister "reach out and ask what concerns the Hungarian parliament has" about Sweden's accession to NATO.
Answering a journalist's question, he said that Hungary does not want to be the last country to ratify Sweden's NATO membership, but that "perhaps we cannot do this without Sweden's help. Why should it be important to us?" , if it is not important for Sweden?"
Prime Minister Orban's government, which has maintained close ties with Moscow despite Russian aggression against Ukraine, has repeatedly promised it will not be the last to ratify the Nordic country's request.
Hungary's parliament, currently on winter break, will resume work around mid-February.
The Turkish parliament may debate Sweden's NATO membership request in the coming weeks, the chairman of the ruling AK Party parliamentary group said last week./ VOA
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