NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Türkiye on Thursday to set aside its reservations over Finland and Sweden’s efforts to join the military alliance, insisting the Nordic neighbors have done enough to satisfy Ankara’s concerns about their membership.

Finland and Sweden applied for membership of the world’s biggest security alliance in the months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February. In doing so, they abandoned longstanding policies of military nonalignment out of concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin might target them next.

However, Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the two countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups. Sweden and Finland struck a deal with Türkiye in June, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned Türkiye will not give the nod to their memberships until Ankara's concerns are addressed.

The trilateral agreement stipulates that Sweden and Finland will not provide support to the YPG, the PKK's Syrian offshoot, and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt in Türkiye. The deal also said Ankara extends full support to Sweden and Finland against threats to their national security. The Nordic countries have both agreed to address Ankara's pending deportation or extradition requests for terror suspects.

"Finland and Sweden have delivered on their commitment to Turkey. They have become strong partners in our joint fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," Stoltenberg told reporters in Istanbul after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

"It’s time to welcome Finland and Sweden as full members of NATO. Their accession will make our alliance stronger and our people safer," Stoltenberg said. "In these dangerous times, it’s even more important to finalize their accession, to prevent any misunderstanding or miscalculation in Moscow."

However, Çavuşoğlu said the schedule for accepting them as new members would depend on when Türkiye’s demands, agreed upon in the joint memorandum, were fulfilled. The 10-article memorandum was unveiled ahead of a NATO summit in June after Türkiye had threatened for weeks to veto Sweden and Finland’s applications.

"These two countries must take important steps on combatting terror because one of the biggest threats NATO is facing today is terrorism," the Turkish minister said.

"It’s not possible to say right now that the two countries have completely implemented all aspects of the memorandum," he added while stressing that Türkiye supports NATO’s enlargement.

Çavuşoğlu said Türkiye sees the new government in Sweden as "more determined" to fulfill the memorandum signed in Madrid. The new Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, is scheduled to visit Ankara on Nov 8, he said. NATO accession is a priority for Sweden's new right-wing government.

Türkiye also has called for the lifting of an arms embargo imposed following its 2019 operation into northern Syria to combat PKK-linked YPG militants. Sweden last month said it would lift the embargo, a step seen as aiming to secure Ankara’s approval.

Çavuşoğlu acknowledged Sweden had changed laws and welcomed the lifting of the arms embargo as "an important step." But he warned the changes must be permanent and Sweden must not reverse any steps once it secures NATO membership.

"We should show our nation and the parliament that these countries (Sweden and Finland) have taken concrete steps to address our concerns," Çavuşoğlu said.

Türkiye, he said, is aware of the positive steps taken by both Nordic countries.

"Our intent is not to harm NATO or prevent NATO's enlargement. Secretary general knows very well that Türkiye has been one of the most steadfast supporters of NATO's enlargement at all summits. We've been very clear about NATO enlargement and our support for it," he said.

He urged Sweden and Finland to take especially concrete steps in the fight against terrorism as "it is also one of the top priorities of NATO."

The top Turkish diplomat also announced that the second trilateral meeting between Türkiye, Sweden and Finland will take place in Stockholm.

But Stoltenberg, in the strongest public statement of support that he has made for the candidates while on Turkish soil, was adamant they have done enough.

"I recognize your concerns. At the same time, it is clear Finland and Sweden have delivered on the memorandum and are committed to the long-term partnership with Turkey," the former Norwegian prime minister told Çavuşoğlu. He said Finland and Sweden were keen to work closer with Türkiye to fight "terrorism". "It's also in their interest," he said.

"They have become strong partners in our joint fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," he added.

"And they are clearly committed to long-term engagement with Turkey to address your security concerns."

Çavuşoğlu also underlined that Türkiye doesn’t have any major issues with Finland but because the Nordic countries want their membership process to go in tandem, the two were receiving the "same treatment" from Ankara.

All 30 NATO member countries must officially ratify the accession protocol for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. Only the parliaments of Türkiye and Hungary have yet to do so.

Stoltenberg, who is due to meet with Erdoğan on Friday, said it was important to finalize the membership bids to send a "clear message to Russia".

"In these dangerous times it is even more important to finalize their accession to prevent any misunderstanding or miscalculation by Moscow and to send a clear message to Russia that NATO's door remains open," he said. "And it is only for allies to decide on NATO membership, nobody else."