Hungary will postpone the admission of Sweden to NATO due to criticism from Stockholm at the expense of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's policy, the Hungarian Government announced today.

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovac said that bridging the gap requires effort from both sides.

Sweden and Finland applied to join the NATO military alliance last year, following Russia's attack on Ukraine, but the process was blocked by Hungary and Turkey.

After months of stalling by Orbán's ruling Fidesz party, Hungary's parliament yesterday approved a bill allowing Finland to join NATO, but Sweden's request is still pending.

"In the case of Sweden, there are a number of grievances that need to be resolved before the country's admission is ratified," Kovacs said on his blog.

He said Swedish officials had "repeatedly tried to attack Hungary diplomatically, using their political influence to harm Hungarian interests", alluding to Swedish criticism of the Orbán government's decline in the rule of law in the last 13 years.

On the other hand, Orbán denies these allegations and claims that Stockholm has been taking a "hostile attitude" towards Budapest for years.

"When you add to this the problems and grievances that Ankara has, there is not much room for maneuver, at least not until the Swedes change their thinking and behavior and help heal these long-standing wounds," Kovacs said.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced last week that Turkey's parliament would also begin the process of ratifying Finland's admission, while Sweden accused it of harboring Kurdish militants.