Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that the Turkish Parliament will not ratify Sweden’s membership in NATO until at least October.

Speaking to reporters in Vilnius after the NATO summit, Erdoğan said that the Turkish Parliament is on a two-month recess and then “there are many other legislative proposals to discuss”.

Turkey agreed to Sweden joining the military alliance earlier this week.

However, Turkey opposed it for months, claiming that Sweden harbors members of militant groups that Ankara considers terrorists. For a country to enter NATO, its candidacy must be ratified by all member states.

Hungary has also postponed the ratification of Sweden’s membership until autumn.

Like Finland, Sweden abandoned its longstanding policy of military neutrality after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Finland officially became a NATO member in April.

The world’s largest military organization has 31 member countries, including three from the Western Balkans region: Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.