ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s leader flatly opposes having Sweden and Finland join NATO, but the military alliance’s chief said Thursday he was confident the standoff would be resolved and the two Nordic nations would have their membership requests approved soon.

Ankara is objecting to their membership over security concerns, accusing them of supporting outlawed groups that Turkey deems existential threats, as well as their restrictions on weapons exports to Turkey.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a Thursday visit to Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, he was ”confident that we will come to a quick decision to welcome both Sweden and Finland to join the NATO family.”.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said her government was reaching out to Turkey and other NATO nations “to sort out any issues.”.

Erdogan says Turkey’s objections stem from its security concerns and grievances with Sweden’s — and to a lesser degree Finland’s — perceived support of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and an armed group in Syria that Turkey sees as an extension of the PKK.

Several European countries, including Sweden and Finland, restricted arms exports to Turkey following the country’s cross-border operation into northeast Syria in 2019 with the stated goal of clearing the border area of Kurdish militants.