Erdogan to visit Budapest next month as Turkey and Hungary hold up Sweden’s membership in NATO

By JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Hungary’s capital next month. It will be his second trip to the Budapest this year. The Dec. 18 visit comes as both countries remain the only NATO members not to have ratified Sweden’s accession into the trans-Atlantic military alliance. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s press chief said Monday that Erdogan would take part in a meeting of the Hungarian-Turkish Strategic Cooperation Council. The occasion will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Orbán’s press chief didn’t immediately respond to further questions from The Associated Press on Tuesday about the trip. It wasn’t clear whether Erdogan and Orbán would discuss Sweden’s NATO membership.