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NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Photo:
Burhan Ozbilici / dpa
In order to join NATO, Sweden and Finland need the consent of all members of the alliance.
So far, Turkey has resisted, despite numerous appeals.
Now NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has emphasized these demands during a visit to Turkey.
He was convinced "that the time has now come to ratify the accession of Finland and Sweden," Stoltenberg said after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu in Ankara.
Both motions could be ratified "now."
The question of whether both countries will be admitted to NATO at the same time is a delicate one.
Separate accession was considered taboo until recently, but Stoltenberg again signaled openness.
The decisive factor is not that the accessions are ratified at the same time, but »as quickly as possible«.
Çavuşoğlu, on the other hand, reiterated Turkish resistance to Sweden's application for membership: "We could evaluate Finland's Nato membership process separately from Sweden," he said.
His country's position on the question of membership was "clear and unambiguous from the start."
Çavuşoğlu said it was "not realistic" to say, particularly about Sweden, that the country had met the conditions.
Turkey expects further concrete steps.
Ankara has been blocking Sweden's efforts to join NATO for months.
The Turkish government is demanding that Stockholm take a harder line on Kurdish activists it considers "terrorists."
The conflict most recently came to a head after a Koran was burned during an anti-Islamic politician's rally near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm in January.
In Ankara, Stoltenberg showed understanding for the outrage over the burning of the Koran.
"I understand and share the pain because I consider the burning of the holy book to be a shameful act," said the NATO Secretary General.
Not all shameful, immoral or provocative acts are illegal, but it is important to have a clear position on them.
He welcomed the fact that the Swedish government had condemned the burning of the Koran and that it had succeeded in preventing further demonstrations burning the Koran.
Shortly before, there had been outrage after activists in the Swedish capital hung a doll resembling Turkish President Erdoğan by their feet.
muk/dpa/AFP
