Today, Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Ankara to agree to annex Finland and Sweden "now", in the context of his leaders' visit to Turkey to affirm the alliance's solidarity in the face of the earthquake.

"Now is the time to welcome Finland and Sweden as members of NATO," Stoltenberg said in a press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Stoltenberg called on Turkey to accept Finland and Sweden's requests to join the alliance, adding that the fight against terrorism would be prominent on the agenda of the NATO summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

For his part, the Turkish Foreign Minister said, in a joint press statement in Ankara with Stoltenberg, that Turkey may evaluate Finland's request to join NATO separately from Sweden's request.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan objects to Sweden's request because he says it harbors members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is banned in his country and is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and others.

The Secretary-General of NATO is on an official visit to Turkey to show solidarity and offer condolences to the victims of the earthquake that struck the south of the country at dawn on the sixth of February.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said, in a statement, on Wednesday, that Stoltenberg's two-day visit comes within the framework of affirming NATO's solidarity with Turkey in facing the effects of the earthquake.