Putin continues to be NATO's most valuable asset, Tucker Carlson advised to avoid high windows and unattended tea
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungary-set-ratify-swedens-nato-accession-clearing-last-hurdle-2024-02-26/BUDAPEST/STOCKHOLM, Reuters, Feb 26 - Hungary's parliament approved Sweden's NATO accession on Monday, clearing the last hurdle before the historic step by the Nordic country whose neutrality lasted through two world wars and the simmering conflict of the Cold War.
Hungary's vote ended months of delays to complete Sweden's security policy shift and followed a visit by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Friday during which the two countries signed an arms deal.
"Sweden is leaving 200 years of neutrality and military non-alignment behind," Kristersson told a news conference.
"We are joining NATO in order to defend what we are and everything we believe in even better. We are defending our freedom, our democracy and our values, together with others."
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has faced pressure from NATO allies to fall in line and seal Sweden's accession to the alliance.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg immediately welcomed Hungary's move. "Sweden's membership will make us all stronger and safer," he said on X.
Stockholm abandoned its non-alignment policy for greater safety within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
With Sweden following Finland into NATO, President Vladimir Putin has effectively achieved the very thing he sought to avert when he launched his war in Ukraine - an expansion of the alliance, Western leaders have said.
