Sweden expressed regret today that it did not receive the “green light” from Turkey to ratify its NATO membership, unlike neighboring Finland, which now has the road wide open to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“This is a development we didn’t want but we were prepared for it”he stated Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom at a press conference.

“The important thing now for Sweden is to secure the two remaining ratifications” from Turkey and Hungary and the country to shield its own security during the time it will take for these ratifications to take place, he said.

More bad news for Sweden: the Hungarian parliament today set March 27 to ratify Finland’s candidacy, but Sweden’s case will be decided “later”, the leader of the ruling Fidesz caucus said.

The head of Swedish diplomacy declined to comment on the information, saying he had no confirmation from Budapest.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today welcomed Turkey’s willingness to ratify Finland’s membership in the Alliance and called for Sweden’s membership to be ratified “as soon as possible”.

Stockholm believes it is doing “everything” based on a memorandum of understanding it signed with Turkey last June at the Madrid summit, Billstrom said.

“We do what is written in this memorandum, we do not do less and we do not do more than what is contained in it,” noted the Swedish Foreign Minister.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that “no positive action has been taken by Sweden regarding the terrorist list”referring to “more than 120” extradition requests submitted by Ankara.

Stockholm regularly reiterates that the judiciary, not the government, has the final say on publishing in Sweden.

“There will be answers that can be positive and others negative from Turkey’s perspective and that’s how it will happen, very simply,” Billstrom confirmed today.

The date for Turkey’s ratification of Finland’s membership is not yet known, but Erdogan said he “hopes” it will take place before Turkish elections on May 14.