(7 Mar 2023)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brussels - 07 March 2023
1. Arrival of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Albanian President Bajram Begaj
2. Cameras
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General:
“I'm also going actually later today to Sweden, and I have seen the reports from the Hungarian parliamentary delegation that has just visited Sweden, and that they are sending a positive message and recommending ratification. So of course, we still have some way to go, but we are making progress and this remains so far the quickest ratification process in NATO's modern history.”
4. NATO logo
5. Stoltenberg and Begaj at news conference
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General:
“And so far already 28 of the 30 allies have ratified. And then, of course, I hope and I urge also the two remaining allies, Hungary and the Turkey, to do that as soon as possible. The Hungarian parliament has announced a plan to do this towards the end of the month, and then with the delegation visiting Sweden, sending a positive message, I think we are making progress and approaching ratification also in Hungary.”
7. Cameras
8. Stoltenberg and Begaj shaking hands and leaving news conference
STORYLINE:
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday welcomed statements by Hungary that it will support Sweden’s NATO membership bid.
In Brussels, Stoltenberg welcomed the statements by Hungarian lawmakers, who were meeting the speaker of the Swedish parliament.
“They are sending a positive message and recommending ratification. So, of course, we still have some way to go but we are making progress,” Stoltenberg told reporters.
Some Hungarian lawmakers have previously raised doubts about whether to support the NATO membership applications by Sweden and Finland, citing what they call “blatant lies” from Stockholm and Helsinki on the state of Hungary’s democracy.
But the Hungarian delegation indicated that the parliament in Budapest would ultimately ratify Sweden’s NATO bid.
Hungary is the only NATO member country besides Turkey that hasn’t yet approved Sweden and Finland's joint application to join to Western military alliance.
The former Norwegian prime minister will chair a meeting between representatives from Sweden, Finland and Turkey in Brussels on Thursday.
AP video by Mark Carlson
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