NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Sweden and Finland both applied to join NATO last year, with only Finland being admitted in April. NATO’s regulations stipulate that the approval of all 31 member countries is required to admit new members. Turkey and Hungary are the two remaining NATO members that have yet to ratify Sweden's accession.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 23 presented Sweden’s NATO membership application to the National Assembly. However, the Turkish Parliament hasn’t yet announced a specific timeline for voting on the matter. The Hungarian Government introduced a similar bill to the National Assembly last summer, but lawmakers postponed its consideration due to purportedly "unfriendly" comments from the Hungarian government.