Finland, Sweden say talks with Turkey are constructive regarding NATO
Turkey continues its talks with Sweden and Finland as they all look for solutions regarding security concerns in the most recent bids for NATO membership.
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Finland and Sweden believe the recent negotiations with Turkey have been constructive
On Wednesday, Sweden and Finland held talks pertaining to their accession to NATO with their Turkish counterpart in Ankara. Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin, and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, spearheaded the Turkish delegation, while State Secretary Oscar Stenstrom and Permanent State Secretary Jukka Salovaara headed the Swedish and Finnish delegations, respectively.
Sweden and Finland's negotiations with Turkey have been constructive said the Finnish Foreign Ministry. In turn, Kalin confirmed that both Sweden and Finland understood Turkey's security concerns regarding their NATO membership.
Discussions between officials from Finland, Sweden and Turkey in Ankara today, dealing with Finland's and Sweden's NATO membership and the security concerns presented by Turkey. It was agreed that the dialogue, conducted in a constructive spirit, will be continued.
— MFA Finland 🇫🇮 (@Ulkoministerio) May 25, 2022
Finland and Sweden handed in their bids to join the US-led military alliance NATO on Wednesday 18th of May. The two countries have been expected to apply to join NATO and promised they would be granted membership quickly, according to diplomats and officials.
On Monday 23rd of May, Erdogan stated that if Turkey agrees to the Nordic states’ bid for joining NATO, then it will no longer “be a security organization, but will become a place where there will be many representatives of terrorists." In other words, Turkey cannot give NATO a unanimous vote to accept the bids as that would threaten its national security, as per the Turkish President.
