Hungary's President Tamas Sulyok signed the legislation approving Sweden's entry into the NATO military alliance, as announced by the president's office on Tuesday, clearing the way for Sweden to become the 32nd member of the alliance in the coming days. Lawmakers approved Sweden's NATO accession on February 26, clearing the last hurdle before the historic step by the Nordic country, whose neutrality lasted through two world wars and the Cold War.

Stockholm abandoned its non-alignment policy for greater safety within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The remaining procedural steps, such as submitting the accession documents in Washington, are expected to be completed promptly.

"It is tremendously important and hopefully we will now become members and it will not be a matter of weeks but a matter of days," Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson told a news conference in Stockholm. "It will be good for Sweden and it will be good for NATO. It will be good for stability in the entire Euro-Atlantic area that Sweden can become a full-fledged member of NATO."

Following Sweden's application in May 2022, the majority of NATO nations promptly endorsed its bid. However, Turkey and Hungary, dissatisfied with Sweden's perceived backing of Kurdish separatists and its criticisms of the Hungarian government, caused a delay in the process.

The addition of Finland last year and the imminent inclusion of Sweden, a country that has remained conflict-free since 1814, represents the most substantial expansion of NATO since it incorporated members from Eastern Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The accession is a blow to President Vladimir Putin and Russia now faces an almost unbroken chain of NATO members to its west stretching from the Black Sea to the Arctic.

On February 26, Hungarian legislators endorsed Sweden's NATO membership bid, following pressure from NATO allies on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government to align with the decision and formalize Sweden's entry into the alliance.

Image source: Reuters