Sweden's NATO Accession Will Strengthen Alliance, U.S. Says

The United States on Monday 'welcomed' the Hungarian parliament’s overwhelming vote to approve Sweden’s application to join NATO, and urged the Victor Orban's government to complete the process.

"We look forward to Hungary signing and depositing the instrument of ratification without delay.  Like Finland, which recently joined our Alliance, Sweden is a strong democracy with a highly capable military that shares our values and vision for the world," White House said in a statement on behalf of the National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Having Sweden as a NATO Ally "will make the United States and our Allies even safer," per the White House.

"NATO is the most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world, and it is as critical today to ensuring the security of our citizens as it was 75 years ago when our Alliance was founded out of the wreckage of World War II," reads the statement.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed this view.  According to him, Sweden's accession "only underscores" yet again the strategic debacle that Vladimir Putin’s reinvasion of Ukraine has produced for Russia: a NATO Alliance that is both stronger and larger; the Ukrainian people more unified in opposition to Russia; and a Europe that has shown extraordinary solidarity both with Ukraine and with the imperative of dealing with the threat and aggression posed by Russia, including by moving itself off of energy dependence on Russia quickly, effectively.

"We see time and again that Mr. Putin has managed to precipitate everything he said he was trying to prevent," Blinken said during his meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski at the State Department.