NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance does not expect Turkey to back out of Sweden and Finland and that there is still room to overcome Ankara’s “legitimate” concerns about terrorism. He explained, “Before, we had no reason to think there would be any problems. Turkey’s concerns are not new and Turkey is an important ally and when an ally raises security issues we must address them.”

In an interview with the British newspaper Financial Times, it was stated that his goal is for “Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO as soon as possible”, stressing that “there is no deadline for resolving this issue before the NATO summit at the end of June.” He also expressed gratitude to Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who expressed her country’s readiness to “respond to Turkey’s concerns by amending anti-terrorism laws and offering to facilitate arms sales to Ankara.” He stressed that “Finland and Sweden’s decision to join the alliance will increase security in the Atlantic region, as they are already involved in maneuvers related to the defense system in the region.”