ISTANBUL (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Turkey on Thursday to set aside its reservations over Finland and Sweden’s efforts to join the military alliance, insisting the Nordic neighbors have done enough to satisfy Ankara’s concerns about their membership.

Finland and Sweden applied for membership of the world’s biggest security alliance in the months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February. In doing so, they abandoned longstanding policies of military nonalignment out of concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin might target them next.

But Turkey, which joined NATO in 1952, is still not ready to endorse them after months of trilateral talks. The Turkish government wants them to crack down on individuals it considers terrorists, such as supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party and people suspected of orchestrating a failed 2016 coup in Turkey.

“Finland and Sweden have delivered on their commitment to Turkey. They have become strong partners in our joint fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Istanbul after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

“It’s time to welcome Finland and Sweden as full members of NATO. Their accession will make our alliance stronger and our people safer,” Stoltenberg said. “In these dangerous times, it’s even more important to finalize their accession, to prevent any misunderstanding or miscalculation in Moscow.”

However, Cavusoglu said the schedule for accepting them as new members would depend on when Turkey’s demands, agreed upon in a joint memorandum, were fulfilled. The 10-article memorandum was unveiled ahead of a NATO summit in June after Turkey had threatened for weeks to veto Sweden and Finland’s applications.

“These two countries must take important steps on combatting terror because one of the biggest threats NATO is facing today is terrorism,” the Turkish minister said.