NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that he saw some "progress" in Sweden and Finland's stalled process to become a member to the transatlantic alliance.
Stoltenberg, insisting on a visit to Sweden, said getting the memberships finalized was "a top priority."
"We are making progress," he said at a press conference with the Swedish prime minister.
Stoltenberg said Stockholm "has delivered" on a deal with Türkiye inked last year that was meant to pave the way to NATO membership.
"The time has come to finalize the ratification process," he added.
A new round of talks announced by Türkiye last month will take place at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
Stoltenberg refused to speculate on the results of the fresh negotiations this week.
Türkiye has raised the prospect of accepting Finland without letting Sweden's application through. A Turkish official told Daily Sabah that it is likely that the process of Finland and Sweden will be dealt separately.
NATO officials are skeptical about splitting up the bids, but probably accept Helsinki may join first.
Tensions escalated between Sweden and Türkiye after a range of anti-Türkiye and anti-Islam provocations in the country.
In one of the acts that took place in Sweden, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's effigy was hanged on a lamppost outside Stockholm’s City Hall. In another incident, a far-right activist under police protection burned a Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
Türkiye postponed the next tripartite meeting slated for February in Brussels with Sweden and Finland on their NATO bids.
Sweden and neighboring Finland abandoned decades of non-alignment and applied to join NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All NATO members, except Türkiye and Hungary, have ratified their accession, but unanimity is required.
Türkiye has frequently voiced that it does not oppose NATO enlargement but criticizes Stockholm for not acting against elements posing a security threat to Ankara.
Last June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum to address Ankara’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.
However, recent provocative demonstrations by terrorist sympathizers and Islamophobic figures in Stockholm have led Turkish leaders to question Sweden’s commitment to take the necessary steps to gain NATO membership.
Ahead of a historic NATO summit, the three countries signed a trilateral deal in June that prevented a Turkish veto. In the memorandum, the Nordic countries said they would address Türkiye’s extradition requests for terrorists. In addition, the joint directive states that Finland and Sweden "will not provide support to ... the organization described as FETÖ and terrorist groups."
Anti-terror laws
On the other side, Stoltenberg on Tuesday welcomed Sweden's new anti-terror legislation.
"Türkiye has legitimate security concerns and I welcome that Sweden has stepped up in the fight against terrorism, including the PKK, by introducing new terrorist legislation and strengthening counterterrorism cooperation with Ankara," Stoltenberg said in a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
"I also welcome that Sweden is ensuring that there are no restrictions on arms exports to Türkiye," he added.
It is also encouraging that the Hungarian Parliament has begun to debate the ratification of Sweden and Finland's NATO bids, he said, adding that he anticipates that the procedure will end soon.
Meanwhile, Kristersson said in the coming weeks, Sweden will become "completely ready" to join NATO after its ratification by Türkiye and Hungary, which means "Sweden will be working at the same pace as Finland."
He also said in Brussels, Sweden will present in detail exactly what measures have been taken since the Madrid meeting.