Sweden, which took steps towards becoming a member of NATO after the Ukraine-Russia war, turned its sights to the summit in July.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who is negotiating for membership in the alliance with Turkey, said that the possibility of Finland becoming a member of NATO before his country has increased.

Kristersson, at the press conference he held with Sweden's Chief Negotiator for NATO Membership Oscar Stenström in Stockholm, stated that after the developments in recent weeks, it has become increasingly clear that Turkey will approve Finland's membership and that his reservations about Sweden continue.

Kristersson nevertheless stressed that he was confident that Sweden would eventually join NATO.

The two countries want to be members of the alliance until the NATO summit to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July. However, in order for the two countries to become members of NATO, the parliaments of 30 member states of the alliance must approve.

Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified the membership of the two countries.

Hungarian Parliament Deputy Speaker Csaba Hende announced last week that Sweden and Finland's NATO memberships are expected to be voted on "in the coming weeks".

The latest talks between Turkey, Sweden and Finland were held last week at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Turkish Presidency Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın said in a statement after the talks, "A step should be taken to address Turkey's security concerns."

Kalin said that the speed, scope and general framework regarding whether Sweden and Finland's NATO process will proceed together or separately depend on the steps these countries will take.

Sweden had amended the constitution in 2022 "to make more room for security forces in the fight against terrorism".

Following the constitutional amendments that came into force on January 1, 2023, harmonization studies were carried out in many laws "on the fight against terrorism".