NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated on Thursday the && time is now & for Turkey to validate applications by Finland and Sweden to sign up with the defence alliance, Reuters reported.Stoltenberg was speaking at a joint press conference in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock this week said she anticipates all NATO members to validate the quotes && without further delay&& .

Finland and Sweden applied to sign up with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization following Russia&& s invasion of Ukraine in February in 2015 and their membership bids have been ratified by all allies other than Hungary and Turkey, checked out the report.According to Reuters Turkey is extensively viewed as the main hold-up, with President Tayyip Erdogan indicating his nation could validate Finland&& s application while not going ahead with Sweden&& s.Turkey says Sweden harbors members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is seen as a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and others.Last month Turkey suspended talks with Sweden and Finland on their applications after a protest during which Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political celebration Hard Line, burned a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.Stoltenberg explained Koran-burning demonstration as && a disgraceful act & and stated the Swedish federal government had shown a strong position against the protest which need to be praised, Reuters reported.&& For me, this just demonstrates that Sweden and Finland comprehend and are executing policies which recognize the concerns that Turkey expressed.

And this is why I think that time has actually come to ratify,& & he said.Cavusoglu duplicated Turkey&& s position that it could examine Finland and Sweden&& s bids to sign up with NATO separately.While conceding that Sweden had changed its legislation on terrorism in line with Turkey&& s needs, Cavusoglu said the modifications must be totally carried out, Reuters reported.Stoltenberg, who later on consulted with Erdogan in Ankara prior to departing for southern Turkey to go to earthquake-hit areas, stated that the battle versus terrorism would be high up on the program at the NATO top in Vilnius in July.The post NATO chief says ‘& lsquo; time is now & for Turkey to ratify Finland and Sweden membership bids first appeared on Ariana News.