NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expects Sweden and Finland to officially join the bloc in the new year, he said in an interview with the dpa news agency.
Stoltenberg could not say when exactly this will happen. However, he said he was "absolutely confident that the ratification process will be completed on time."
Thus, Stoltenberg made it clear that he does not expect Turkey to block the admission process for much longer, the newspaper writes.
The defense alliance's easternmost member still refuses to ratify so-called accession protocols to clear the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
The Turkish leadership justifies its position by the two states' support for "terrorist organizations" such as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
But there is also speculation that arms exports, halted by NATO partners, may play a role. For example, the United States excluded Turkey from its F-35 fighter jet program after the Ankara government bought S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, despite serious security concerns from NATO partners.