Hungary's government declines offer to meet U.S. senators seeking approval for Sweden's NATO bid
CTV
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators made an official visit to Hungary's capital Sunday and called on the nationalist government to immediately approve Sweden's request to join NATO.
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators made an official visit to Hungary's capital Sunday and called on the nationalist government to immediately approve Sweden's request to join NATO.
Hungary is the only one of NATO's 31 existing members not to have ratified Sweden's bid. The Hungarian government faces mounting pressure to act after delaying the move for more than 18 months since admitting a new country to the military alliance requires unanimous approval.
The visiting senators announced they would submit a joint resolution to Congress condemning alleged democratic backsliding in Hungary and urging the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban to lift its block on Sweden's trans-Atlantic integration.
"With accession, Hungary and your prime minister will be doing a great service to freedom-loving nations worldwide," Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest.
The resolution, first reported early Sunday by The Associated Press, was authored by Tillis and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat. Joining them in the delegation to Budapest was Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut.
Shaheen said it was "disappointing" that no members of the Hungarian government had accepted invitations to meet the delegation but she was "hopeful and optimistic" Sweden's accession would be submitted for ratification when Hungarian lawmakers reconvene on Feb. 26.
Murphy said the refusal of Orban's government to meet was "strange and concerning," but that the onus was on the long-serving leader to push for a vote.
The Bucharest court of appeals ruled on Thursday against sending internet personality Andrew Tate to trial on charges of human trafficking and sent the case back to prosecutors.
Elon Musk derided a Republican-backed government spending bill that if not passed by Friday night would lead to a government shut down.
A teen charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England this summer remained silent in court Wednesday as not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.
Wrapping up their own investigation on the Jan. 6 2021 Capitol attack, House Republicans have concluded it's former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney who should be prosecuted for probing what happened when then-President Donald Trump sent his mob of supporters as Congress was certifying the 2020 election.
Hannah Kobayashi, the Hawaii woman whose disappearance last month sparked a weekslong search complete with grainy surveillance images and tearful family, says she was unaware of 'everything that was happening' while she was out of touch.
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is escalating his legal campaign against media outlets by suing renowned pollster J. Ann Selzer, her polling firm, The Des Moines Register newspaper and its parent company Gannett.
A teenage student opened fire with a handgun Monday at a Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and another teenager during the final week before Christmas break. The shooter also died, police said.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German parliament on Monday, putting the European Union's most populous member and biggest economy on course to hold an early election in February.
Israel said Sunday it will close its embassy in Ireland as relations deteriorated over the war in Gaza, where Palestinian medical officials said new Israeli airstrikes killed over 30 people including several children.
Planned face-to-face peace talks between Congo and Rwanda have been unexpectedly canceled, the Congolese president said.
The commander of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk group of forces has been replaced following Russian advances in the region, a military official said Saturday.