Ankara accused the two Nordic nations of offering safe haven to banned Kurdish militants it considers “terrorists. “
“I am aware of your concerns,” Stoltenberg said at a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Istanbul.
He said Finland and Sweden sought to work more strongly with Turkey to combat “terrorism. “
“It’s in their interest,” he said.
“It is time to welcome Finland and Sweden as full members of NATO. Your club will be our alliance and will make our people safer. “
Both countries abandoned decades of military non-alignment and rushed to become NATO members in May, after Russia invaded Ukraine.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to block their offers and concessions.
In June, Turkey, Sweden and Finland reached an agreement that included provisions on extradition and exchange of information.
“Finland and Sweden have their agreement with Turkey,” Stoltenberg said.
“They have strong partners in our not unusual fight against terrorism in all its bureaucracy and demonstrations,” he added.
“And they are obviously committed to a long-term engagement with Turkey to address their security concerns. “
To date, all 30 NATO member states, Turkey and Hungary, have ratified the accession of Sweden and Finland.
The new members of the alliance must be approved unanimously.
Cavusoglu said Stockholm had taken some steps, adding cut-off restrictions preventing arms sales to Turkey, but added that it is “not imaginable to say” that the July deal has been fully implemented.
“We don’t have the goal of damaging NATO or blocking its enlargement. . . We want to see concrete measures,” he said.
Ankara is “more hopeful” that the new Swedish government will address Turkey’s concerns, Cavusoglu added.
Sweden’s new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, will travel to Ankara on Tuesday for additional talks, the foreign minister said.
The NATO club is a precedent for Sweden’s new right-wing government.
Stoltenberg, who is scheduled to meet Erdogan on Friday, said it was vital to finalize the offers to send a “clear message to Russia. “
“In those damaging times, it is even more vital to end your club in the face of any false impression or miscalculation of the Moscow component and send a transparent message to Russia that NATO’s door remains open,” he said.
“And it’s up to the allies to NATO membership, no one else. “