Sweden's Inspectorate of Strategic Products (ISP) said Friday it had lifted a ban on exports of military equipment to Turkey after the Scandinavian country decided to join the NATO military alliance and agreed to overcome Turkey's objections, Reuters reported.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO earlier this year, but faced obstacles as their application requires the approval of all 30 current members, while Turkey has opposed it.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to block their applications because of accusations from Ankara that they support the Kurds in northern Syria.

Sweden and Finland effectively banned arms exports to Turkey in 2019 after its invasion of Syria, with the ISP since then revoking existing permits and not issuing new ones, although there was no official embargo.