The Hungarian parliament can ratify Sweden's NATO membership when it convenes for its new spring session later this month, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told his supporters on Saturday.

"It's good news that our dispute with Sweden will soon be settled," Orban said in a key speech. "We are going in the direction that at the start of parliament's spring session we can ratify Sweden's accession to NATO."

Parliament reconvenes on February 26. Sweden applied to join NATO nearly two years ago in a historic shift in policy prompted by Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

Orban said he and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had taken steps "to rebuild trust" between their two countries. Orban did not say what those steps were.

Hungary is the only NATO country not yet to have ratified Sweden's application, a process that requires the backing of all NATO members. The delay has soured relations with the United States and raised concerns among its allies.

(Cover: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during his annual international press conference in Budapest, Hungary, December 21, 2023. /CFP)