Washington, Dec 5 (EFE).- The United States signed a defense cooperation agreement with Sweden on Tuesday amid growing pressure to obtain a green light from Turkey and Hungary to the Nordic country’s entry into NATO.
The agreement, which was signed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson in Washington, seeks to strengthen ties between both countries.
The agreement will “empower our two countries to expand our close security partnership, enhance our cooperation in multilateral security operations, and strengthen transatlantic security together,” a US defense department spokesperson said in a statement.
“Sweden is a strong, capable defense partner that champions NATO’s values, and will further strengthen the Alliance once its NATO accession is completed,” the statement added.
Sweden’s entry into NATO will improve the alliance’s ability to “respond to security challenges in the Euro-Atlantic area,” the spokesperson said.
Turkey and Hungary are the only member countries that have yet to ratify Sweden’s entry into NATO.
Last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Hungarian media that he expected the two countries to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO “without further delay.”
While Ankara has accused Sweden of not doing enough against the activities of alleged Kurdish terrorists on its territory, Hungary slams “unfair” criticism by Swedish politicians against the state of democracy in the country. EFE
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