NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenbergstated that his membership applications are more important Finland And her Sweden ratify the Alliance as soon as possible, not simultaneously.

Two countries applied to join NATO after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February, and their applications have been ratified by all NATO countries except Hungary and Turkey.

Turkey is widely seen as the main obstacle, and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his country could ratify Finland’s request, but not Sweden’s.

Western officials have said they would prefer the two countries join NATO at the same time, in part because it would be easier to simultaneously integrate them into the alliance’s military structures.

But Stoltenberg, speaking before a meeting of NATO defense ministers at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, suggested that this was an afterthought.

“The key issue is to ratify both of their requests as full members as soon as possible,” he told reporters. “I am convinced that both will become full members and I am working hard to ratify them as soon as possible,” he added.

Stoltenberg stressed that Sweden and Finland have already drawn closer to NATO in recent months. He also indicated that all members of the alliance approved the requests of the two countries.

Earlier this month, however, Erdogan said Turkey was positive about Finland’s membership bid, not Sweden’s.

Ankara called on both countries to take a tougher stance against the PKK, which Turkey and the EU consider a terrorist organization, and another group that Ankara accuses of attempting a coup in 2016.

Parliamentary groups in Finland announced on Friday that they are likely to ratify NATO’s founding treaties within the next few weeks, which could lead to Helsinki joining NATO before Stockholm.

^{According to REUTERS, APE-MPE}