OSLO (REUTERS) – The United States is convinced that Finland and Sweden will be able to resolve Turkish concerns about their aspirations for NATO membership, said US Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks on Tuesday (May 24).

“(We are) convinced that Finland and Sweden will be able to solve these (problems) with the Turks directly,” Hicks said when she spoke with her Norwegian counterpart in Oslo.

Ankara surprised its NATO allies earlier this month by protesting against the two Nordic countries’ accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Turkey says Sweden and Finland are home to people linked to the militant group Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.

All 30 NATO states must give their approval before a new member can be admitted and thus benefit from the collective security guarantee.

On Saturday, the leaders of Turkey, Sweden and Finland held talks to discuss Ankara’s concerns.

Sweden and Finland will also attend the NATO summit in Madrid next month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.

Finland and Sweden said they had been urged to join NATO by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, which has turned generations of military allies free to bring about the biggest European security upheaval in decades.

The NATO summit will be held on 28-30 June.