Sweden should become a full member of the NATO military alliance as soon as possible and before the NATO Vilnius summit in July, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said on Wednesday.

"There is absolutely no reason for holding Sweden back," she said on the eve of a two-day NATO meeting of foreign ministers in Oslo. "Sweden fulfils all the criteria."

Sweden applied to join the alliance in May 2022, alongside its traditionally neutral neighbor Finland. While Helsinki's bid was ratified in April 2023, Stockholm's has been held up by Hungary and Türkiye, as all NATO member countries have a veto on any new accession. 

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom is hoping new anti-terrorism legislation which comes into force this week should help Sweden overcome the Turkish veto.

"This new legislation will close a loophole in our already existing anti-terrorist legislation," Billstrom told reporters in Lulea, northern Sweden. "Sweden has not previously prohibited participation in a terrorist organization. We will do this now."

Türkiye says Sweden harbors members of militant groups it considers to be terrorists. The new legislation will make it illegal to arrange meetings or provide logistical or financial help or even food to outlawed groups.

The wide scope of the law has sparked concerns in Sweden about whether it could infringe freedom of speech and other fundamental rights, but the government hopes it will convince newly re-elected Turkish President Rcep Tayyip Erdogan to green-light its NATO membership before July's Vilnius summit.

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Erdogan has come under pressure, not least from the U.S., to back Sweden's NATO bid but so far he has refused to budge. Billstrom said he hoped a NATO gathering in Oslo this week would underline the need for a quick accession.

"I expect clear messages coming out ... that Sweden is welcome into the NATO family and that there is a high expectation that we will be a member before Vilnius," he said.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Türkiye to ratify Sweden's application, saying the Nordic country had already taken significant steps to address Ankara's objections to its membership.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the Swedish prime minister in Lulea, northern Sweden, Blinken said the U.S. was supporting the bid.

"We believe the time is now and there's no reason for not moving forward," Blinken said. "Türkiye has raised important and legitimate concerns. Sweden and Finland both addressed those concerns. We look forward to this process being completed in the weeks ahead. We have no doubt that it can be, and it should be and we expect it to be."

However, progress at this week's Oslo meeting is unlikely as Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will not be there.

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