US senators visit Budapest amid Sweden's potential NATO accession, face cold shoulder from Hungary

The senators conveyed the rejection by the Hungarian government during a press conference held at the United States Embassy in Budapest on Sunday.

The delegation from the U.S. consisted of four members; Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Murphy, and Chris Van Hollen from the Democratic Party, and Thom Tillis from the Republican Party.

"Hungary is a sovereign country, our parliament does not make decisions based on various congressional delegation visits," stated Peter Szijjarto, head of Hungarian diplomacy, on Friday.

In his annual press conference in Budapest on Saturday, Viktor Orban indicated that Hungary's disagreement with Stockholm is nearing its end. Furthermore, he added that the Hungarian parliament has the ability to ratify Sweden's NATO membership during the spring parliamentary session, commencing on February 26.

Orban's explicit statement was: "We are on track to ratify Sweden's NATO membership at the beginning of the parliament's spring session."

The Orban administration has consistently asserted that Hungary will not be the final NATO country to agree to Sweden's inclusion. Nevertheless, after the Turkish parliament approved Sweden's accession in late January, with subsequent endorsement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hungary remained as the lone nation needing to offer its consent.

Prior to this, the Hungarian government required Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to travel to Budapest before the vote. Orban extended an invitation to him in late January. Kristersson agreed, but specified that it would only happen after the Hungarian parliament approves his country's NATO accession.