AFTER conceding that Turkey has blocked efforts to let Finland and Sweden join the military club, Nato secretary-seneral Jens Stoltenberg headed to Ankara today to discuss the issue with Turkish leaders.

Finland and neighbouring Sweden abandoned decades of non-alignment and applied to join the 30-nation alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago. 

Unanimity is required to approve new members and so far Turkey and Hungary have stood in the way. 

Turkey has accused the government in Stockholm of being too lenient toward groups it deems as terror organisations or existential threats, including Kurdish groups. 

Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara had fewer problems with Finland joining.

“There are different assessments in Turkey about to what extent Finland and Sweden are in the same position to be ratified, and that is a Turkish decision,” Mr Stoltenberg told reporters, after chairing a meeting of Nato defence ministers.

"That’s not a Nato decision. It’s a decision by Turkey,” he said, while underlining his belief that both countries have fulfilled their commitments to Nato and Turkey and should be allowed to join.

Mr Stoltenberg added that “the sequencing is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that both Finland and Sweden soon become members of the alliance,” breaking with a stance he has voiced for many months that it was important that they join together.

In recent weeks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed anger at a series of separate demonstrations in Stockholm.

In one case a solitary anti-Islam activist burned the Koran outside the Turkish embassy, while in an unconnected protest an effigy of Mr Erdogan was hanged.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said it would be “unfortunate” if Finland entered Nato first.

United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters that both countries “are ready to join now,” and would bring a “lot of value to the alliance once they join.”

Of the two countries, only Finland shares a border with Russia.

Hungary has pushed back its ratification date for both countries three times so far, but has not publicly raised any substantial objections to either of them joining.

Last October Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party blocked a motion presented to their parliament that might have speeded up a vote on allowing Finland and Sweden to join.

Mr Orban is seen as a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.