The United States hopes that Türkiye and Hungary approve Sweden's NATO membership bid before the upcoming summit of the bloc in July, the U.S. State Department's acting diplomat in Europe said Friday.
"Clearly this will be an ongoing part of our discussions, our engagement with the new Turkish government," Acting Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Dereck Hogan said in a briefing call, referring to Türkiye's presidential elections due to be held on Sunday.
The NATO summit will take place in Lithuania's capital Vilnius in July.
Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in May, abandoning decades of military nonalignment, a decision spurred by Russia's war against Ukraine.
The NATO application has so far been ratified by 28 of the 30 member countries. Hungary has said its parliament will approve the application in early 2023. Ankara says a decision could come after the elections.
Ankara ratified Finland’s membership in March, but Sweden’s bid is still hamstrung due to recent provocative demonstrations by terrorist sympathizers and Islamophobic figures in Stockholm that also sent tensions soaring between two Stockholm and Ankara.
Türkiye has also frequently voiced that it does not oppose NATO enlargement but criticizes Stockholm for failing to take action against elements posing a security threat to Ankara.
