The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has hinted that it is time for Turkey to ratify Finland's and Sweden's NATO membership bids, stressing that Alliance countries that have not yet done so must approve their membership.. AP reports..

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reaffirmed the strong support of Finland and Sweden in telephone conversations with their foreign ministers and said the US attaches great importance to "

State Department spokesman Ned Price also said that Blinken "

" The United States calls on the rest of the allies to quickly ratify their accession,"

The statements do not specifically mention Turkey, but the telephone conversations did not take place until a day after Blinken's meeting with the foreign minister of Turkey, which is the main opponent of Finland and Sweden joining the Alliance..

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Two countries applied to join NATO last year after they were concerned about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.. Only two of the Alliance's 30 countries, Hungary and Turkey, have yet to ratify their applications.. Ratification by Hungary is regarded as a formality and is expected soon.

Turkey, meanwhile, has raised significant objections to the countries joining the Alliance, citing their support for Kurdish groups, which Ankara sees as a terrorist threat.. Turkey demands Sweden, in particular, to do more to deter Kurdish groups before it agrees to ratify their NATO membership bids.. Recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recalled the condition for the ratification of Sweden's application. Erdogan says country needs to expel 130 people Turkey considers terrorists.