Relations between Hungary and Sweden must improve before the Nordic state’s bid for NATO membership is approved, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday.

Sweden and its neighbor Finland asked to join the NATO military alliance last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But Sweden’s application has been held up by Turkey and Hungary, with Budapest citing grievances over Swedish criticism of Orbán’s record on democracy and the rule of law.

Relationship with Sweden all-time low: Hungary chief of staff

Hungary’s Chief of Staff for Prime Minister Viktor Orban has stated that relations between Hungary and Sweden have hit an all-time low. This comes…

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“Because the political relation between Sweden and Hungary is awfully wrong, and we have to improve first,”he said. “We would not like to import conflicts into NATO first.”

A date has not yet been set as to when the Hungarian parliament will vote on the Swedish bid for admission, which has to be ratified by all 30 existing members.

NATO holds a summit in July.

This week, Orbán started a visit to Qatar, with which his government began talks last year on buying liquefied natural gas (LNG).