NATO membership process hasn't stopped, says Finnish, Swedish FMs

The foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland reiterated in separate interviews published Saturday that the process for the two Nordic nations to join NATO is continuing despite Turkey's president saying Sweden shouldn't expect his country to approve its membership.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrm acknowledged in an interview with Swedish newspaper Expressen that Turkish anger over recent demonstrations and the burning of the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm had complicated Sweden's NATO accession.

To admit new countries, NATO requires unanimous approval from its existing members, of which Turkey is one. Despite this, the Swedish government is hopeful of joining NATO this summer, Billstrm said.

It goes without saying that we're looking toward the (NATO) summit in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, in July, Billstrm told Expressen when asked of the timetable for Sweden's possible accession.

Hungary and Turkey are the only countries in the 30-member Western milita