NATO has ramped up pressure on Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden’s membership before the body meets next month.

Fearing that they might be targeted after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of nonalignment to join the US-led alliance. 

Nato must agree unanimously for countries to join and Finland became the alliance’s 31st member in April.

But Turkey’s government accuses Sweden of being too lenient on “terrorist organisations” and security threats, including from Kurdish dissidents and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.

Hungary has also delayed its approval, but the reasons why have not been made publicly clear.

“It’s time for Sweden to join now,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told reporters in Oslo, where she was hosting a meeting with her counterparts to prepare for Nato’s summit in Lithuania which begins on July 11.

The hawkish Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said that he would travel to Ankara “in the near future to continue to address how we can ensure the fastest possible accession of Sweden. 

“I’m confident that Hungary will also ratify the accession protocol,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that “it is essential that we can finally welcome Sweden as the 32nd member.”

She stressed that the Swedish government has Berlin’s “full support.”

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that “it is time for Turkey and Hungary to start the ratification of the Swedish membership to Nato.”

He said that “everything that bars Sweden joining Nato will be seen as wine for Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

For months Sweden, Finland and Turkey have been holding talks to try to address Ankara’s demands, which rights activists warn will silence critics of Turkey’s persecution of Kurds even abroad. Mr Billstrom said that he expects that a new meeting of this “permanent joint mechanism” in the coming weeks.

He noted that Sweden had tightened its anti-terrorism laws making it illegal to finance, recruit for or publicly encourage “a terrorist organisation,” or to travel abroad with the intention of joining such groups.

Mr Erdogan has also been seeking upgraded US fighter jets, and Washington signalled this week that they might be delivered.

“I spoke to Mr Erdogan and he still wants to work on something on the F-16s. I told him we wanted a deal with Sweden. So let’s get that done,” US President Joe Biden said on Monday.