President Miloš Zeman welcomed Hungarian President Katalin Nováková at Prague Castle. March 3, 2023, Prague
Prague – The Hungarian Parliament should vote on the entry of Finland and Sweden into the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) around May 17, Hungarian President Katalin Nováková said after meeting with her Czech counterpart Miloš Zeman. According to her, NATO expansion is a key issue that cannot be decided simply. Nováková supports the entry of both countries, this week she urged Hungarian legislators to quickly ratify their entry. Nováková also stated when asked by ČTK that no decision has yet been made on moving the Hungarian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
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“I consider it justified that NATO expands to include Finland and Sweden,” said Nováková today. “According to my information, Hungary will not be the last country to take a decision on ratification of the accession,” the president added. The entry of the two Scandinavian countries has not yet been approved by Turkey either, Ankara has reservations about the entry of Sweden in particular.
Finland and Sweden jointly applied for accession to the North Atlantic Alliance last year in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which changed the long-term positions of the governments there and residents on the issue of NATO membership.
Nováková also stated in response to CTK's question that no decision has yet been made on the possible move of the Hungarian embassy from Israel's Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The news site The Times of Israel reported today that the embassy could be moving as early as April, citing sources from the Israeli Foreign Ministry and sister newspaper Zman Yisrael. The embassies of most countries in Israel, including the Czech Republic, are located in Tel Aviv, not in Jerusalem, due to the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“I want to believe that the Czech Republic will move its embassy and I will be very happy, if Hungary does the same,” said Zeman, who has long supported the move of the Czech office to Jerusalem. The Czech Embassy has an office in Jerusalem from 2021.
