NATO: Turkey's concerns to be addressed regarding new NATO members
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As Finland and Sweden apply for their NATO membership, Turkey seeks to profit from the situation to gain an upper hand in its local and regional political ambitions.
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Turkey and Nato flags (NATO Archive)
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that "concerns" raised by Turkey over Sweden and Finland's applications to the military alliance were being addressed.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that Turkey's "concerns" regarding Sweden and Finland's applications to the military alliance were being addressed.
Stoltenberg told a Copenhagen conference "Of course, we are addressing the concerns that Turkey has expressed," and that an agreement is being devised on how to move forward.
Previously, Ankara had stated that they have followed up on developments surrounding plans for the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed earlier this month that he could not assess the situation positively yet.
Read more: Turkey to 'block' Sweden, Finland NATO membership
"We are following the process. But we do not have a positive opinion on this matter, because, before that, there was a mistake in connection with Greece. You are aware of Greece's behavior in the alliance towards Turkey," President Erdogan underlined.
He also pointed to how Scandanavian countries "have a habit of showing 'hospitality' to terrorists, letting them into parliament," citing that as the reason why Turkey could not look positively at the prospect of Stockholm and Helsinki joining the alliance.
