BUDAPEST, February 26. /TASS/. Sweden’s, as well as Finland’s accession to NATO is harmful for European security because it will force Russia to take response measures, Endre Simo, head of the Hungarian Community for Peace, a non-government organization, told TASS.

"By integrating the two neutral Scandinavian countries into NATO's ranks, NATO wanted to harm Russia's security even more, thereby it hurt the European security even more," he said. "By expanding to the detriment of Russia's security, NATO ignores the Russian security demands presented to Washington and Brussels in December 2021. This obviously makes the Russian side take countermeasures."

According to Simo, it is "a historical mistake that the two countries gave up their neutrality because of a supposed but unsubstantiated Russian military threat against them." Instead, in his words, they should better declare "their interest in Ukraine's neutrality." "According to a Hungarian proverb, ‘fear is a bad adviser,’" he noted.

"Helsinki and Stockholm would have done a good service to the Peace, if instead of joining NATO, they had called for a compromise with Russia in order to create a new European-Eurasian security and cooperation system. Starting from the useful experience of the Helsinki process of the 1970s, they should have moved on, since only collective security guarantees a fearless life," he stressed, adding that he regrets that "the Hungarian elite gave in to NATO pressure and agreed to the inclusion of Sweden."

"Nevertheless, I consider it important that the Hungarian government has not given up its efforts to convince its allies of the need for peace," the Hungarian expert said.

Earlier in the day, the Hungarian parliament ratified the agreement on Sweden's accession to NATO. Hungary became the last country in NATO to have approved Sweden's bid. The bill on Sweden’s admission to NATO was submitted to parliament by the Hungarian government back in the summer of 2022 but was shelved because of the unfriendly rhetoric by Swedish politicians. On March 2023, Hungary’s parliament okayed Finland’s accession to NATO but postponed Sweden’s bid consideration.

The two Nordic countries applied for NATO membership on May 18, 2022, saying that this move was prompted by the developments inn Ukraine.