Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. (Photo: REUTERS)

Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO members that have not yet ratified Sweden's membership. Sweden abandoned its long-held non-alignment policy in 2022.

During the NATO Summit held in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, in July of 2022, Erdogan said he intended to present Sweden's NATO application to his National Assembly for review and approval.

Last year, both Sweden and Finland initiated the process to join NATO. Finland became a NATO member in April of this year, but relations between Sweden and Turkey have been strained because of acts of blasphemy against the Quran in Sweden. Ankara has also accused Sweden of harboring members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated an outlawed organization in Turkey.