Defense chief Lloyd Austin says Washington is looking forward to the Nordic state joining the bloc this summer
The US has reiterated its support for Sweden’s NATO membership as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited the country to meet his Swedish counterpart, the first time a Pentagon chief has visited the Nordic state in over 20 years.
Austin told reporters at a news conference that Washington “looking forward to welcoming Sweden as the 32nd soon” member of NATO, and said the US hopes this happens before the upcoming NATO summit in July.
The defense chief urged Turkey and Hungary, the last two NATO members that have not yet approved Stockholm’s membership, to ratify the accession as soon as possible.
Last May, Sweden and Finland renounced their long-standing neutrality and tendered to join the US-led military bloc, citing the perceived threat from Russia due to its military operation in Ukraine.
To be accepted into the bloc, however, the membership application must first be ratified by all current member states. This process was blocked by Hungary and Trkiye, where Ankara accused the Nordic states of supporting Kurdish “terrorist groups” such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
While Finland’s bid was eventually ratified by both Ankara and Budapest in late March, when the country officially joined the bloc earlier this month, Sweden’s NATO bid has remained in limbo.
Turkish authorities claim that Stockholm has yet to fully address its grievances, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused it of “spreading blatant lies about Hungary, about the rule of law in Hungary, about democracy, about life here.”
Both Sweden and Finland have been strongly critical of Hungary’s conservative government. Both support the EU’s withholding of funds from Budapest due to Orban’s alleged stifling of LGBTQ and migrant rights, as well as concerns about the independence of the judiciary.