The United States hopes that this week’s NATO summit in Madrid, Spain will “raise” the candidacies of Finland and Sweden to join the North Atlantic Alliance when the two nations face backlash from Turkey.

In the midst of floating concerns, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that the main goal is to “create as much positive momentum” as possible.

“I am not sitting here today proposing that all issues be resolved by Madrid, but we will try to resolve as many of them as possible so that Madrid provides a boost for their candidacies, although there is still some concern about it. part of Turkey that needs to be worked out, ”Sullivan said at the G7 summit in Germany.

Other US and European officials have reiterated that the warning that Turkey’s concerns are unlikely to be resolved before this week’s summit, with at least one saying that the nation is usually waiting for the “last minute” to offer some concessions.

“My best prognosis based on what I have seen is that they will drive this to the thread in Madrid. They also always prefer if they are going to make concessions to do it at the leadership level, they think it improves that status.” said a European official to CNN. “It is Turkey’s standard practice not to make concessions until the last possible moment. And the last possible moment is usually defined as a bilateral meeting with the President of the United States, followed by a leadership meeting.”

Finland and Sweden formally applied to join the North Atlantic Alliance in May, in the midst of the ongoing brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine. The two countries must receive unanimous support from all 30 countries to join.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was quick to point out their candidacies, saying the two nations were not taking a hard line on “terrorists”, citing Kurdish activists.

“None of the countries have an open, clear stance on terrorist organizations,” Erdoğan said in May, adding, “are they coming to try to convince us? Sorry, do not wear you out.”

At the time, President Biden brushed away Turkish fears and told reporters: “I think we will be okay.”

It is still unclear whether Biden intends to meet with Erdoğan in Madrid regarding Sweden and Finland’s candidacies, but Sullivan indicated that “they may well have the opportunity to see each other.”

“The president is following this very closely,” Sullivan added. “His team works with Finns, Swedes and Turks, and I am on the phone daily with my counterparts from all three countries.”

At the same time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has tried to get all problems resolved before the meetings in Madrid.

“My intention is to have this in place before the NATO summit,” Stoltenberg said earlier this month. “At the same time, I know that in order to make progress, we need 30 allies to come to an agreement.”

Biden is scheduled to travel to Madrid for the summit on Tuesday.