Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling party will support the ratification of Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership, the parliamentary group of the faction that controls more than two-thirds of parliamentary seats said today.

The Hungarian parliament today began discussing the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO.

According to the Parliament’s website, the ratification decision, which was originally expected between March 6 and 9, has now been pushed back to March 20 at the earliest.

The Hungarian deputies are concerned that “there will be a direct border between Russia and Finland with a length of more than 1,000 km,” which will create risks of an escalation of tension.

Other MPs condemn the repeated criticism and “outright lies” spread by Swedes and Finns about the state of democracy in Hungary.

The Hungarian opposition, for its part, accuses Orban of delaying the ratification of the two countries’ NATO membership, as he wants to maintain relations and open channels of communication with Moscow, despite the war in Ukraine.

Hungary is the only NATO member, along with Turkey, that has not yet ratified the accession of Finland and Sweden.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP, Reuters, dpa.