As Türkiye awaits Sweden to fulfill the criteria for approval of its membership to NATO, the alliance's chief said he would soon travel to Türkiye to discuss the issue.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he spoke with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan earlier this week and would also travel to Ankara in the near future" to address how we can ensure the fastest possible accession of Sweden. His remarks on Thursday came at a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, also attended by Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom. Billstrom said at the start of the meeting that "the time has come for Türkiye and Hungary to ratify Sweden's membership application." "We have fulfilled all our commitments," Billstrom said.

"Swedish membership is good not only for Sweden, the Nordic countries, Norway and the Baltic region but it is also good for the whole of NATO. This will strengthen NATO, and that is of course, also good for Türkiye and all other allies," Stoltenberg told reporters at the summit.

"It is in the interest of the whole of NATO to have Sweden as a full-fledged member. My message is also that Sweden is already very close to NATO and Sweden is in a much stronger position after the decision to invite Sweden, and that was the decision Türkiye also supported last June," he said. Stoltenberg also pointed out the new counter-terrorism law that came into force on June 1.

Stockholm hopes it will address the Türkiye's concerns over groups recognized as terrorists by Ankara, from PKK to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). The bill brings prison terms of up to four years for people convicted of terrorism-related activities, cooperation with terrorist groups, and supporting or financing them. The same prison term will apply to people convicted of supporting arms, transportation or leasing property to terrorist groups.

The bill expands the powers of Swedish authorities to detain and try supporters and financiers of terrorist groups. Billstrom has told a media outlet after the parliament passed the bill that it would address Türkiye's concerns.

Billstrom has cited that PKK, in particular, has been active in Sweden and was working to fund terrorism in Türkiye. The minister has noted that the group also earned revenue from illegal drug sales and used Sweden as a base to collect funds.

"They demonstrate Sweden is now taking new steps to step up the fight against terrorism, including for instance, PKK which is a terrorist organization, not only based on the assessment of Ankara and Türkiye, but also by Sweden, the European Union and many others. Therefore, I welcome both the stronger laws, which are now coming into force in Sweden on June 1, but also I welcome the fact that the cooperation between Sweden and Türkiye has been strengthened and that will also be a part of my message: Sweden has actually proven and demonstrated that it is delivering on the trilateral memorandum signed in Madrid. The fact that Sweden has delivered on those commitments just highlights the importance of making sure that Sweden comes on board as soon as possible," Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

The NATO chief said Türkiye had legitimate security concerns and no other NATO member suffered more terrorist attacks than Türkiye. "Therefore, it is important that we work together with Türkiye to fight terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations. I welcome what NATO allies do, but also what Sweden has done over the last month to step up the fight against terrorism and cooperation with Türkiye," he said.

With Turkish elections over and Erdoğan winning another five-year term as president, some NATO foreign ministers expressed optimism Ankara would now lift its objections to Stockholm's bid.

"Now that Turkish elections are over, it is important that Türkiye goes on with the ratification process," said Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said at the Oslo summit. Türkiye ratified Finland's NATO accession in March.

Timing-wise, several foreign ministers expressed confidence that Sweden could become a member before, or at, a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July. "There is a very high expectation that the Swedish flag will be raised (in Vilnius)," said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.