PREVIEW

Hungary Stalls Parliament Session to Vote on Sweden Becoming a NATO Member. Al Jazeera reports that lawmakers from Hungary have boycotted an emergency parliamentary session to vote on Sweden joining NATO. The February 5 session, which was an attempt to place a vote on Sweden's bid on the National Assembly's schedule, was ultimately scuttled. In January, Turkey's parliament voted to approve Sweden joining the alliance, making Hungary the last NATO country to grant approval. Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Hungary has maintained close ties with Moscow, despite stating their support for the Swedish bid to join the alliance. Last month, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that he would push his party to ratify Sweden's bid"at the first possible opportunity." US Ambassador David Pressman expressed the United States' hopes that Hungary acts "expeditiously.” "Sweden’s NATO accession is an issue that directly affects the United States’s national security and affects the security of our alliance as a whole." David Pressman, United States Ambassador, via Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera reports that, in a separate statement, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin suggested sanctioning Hungary for its delays, calling Orban “the least reliable member of NATO.” According to Hungarian officials, a vote will not be held until Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson agrees to visit Budapest for negotiations regarding the matter. In response, Kristersson said that he would agree to negotiations only after Hungary grants Sweden approval to join NATO. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT