White House "confident" NATO will reach consensus on Sweden, Finland
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The US is still working on clarifying Turkey's position on Sweden and Finland joining NATO, and Austin will discuss accession plans with Sweden.
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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with Swedish Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist
Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday that the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, will discuss with his Swedish counterpart Peter Hutqvist Sweden's intent to join NATO.
The discussion is expected to take place during the Swedish Defense Minister's upcoming visit to Washington.
"Secretary is looking forward to meeting with the Swedish Defense Minister on Wednesday," Kirby said. "I have no doubt that the Defense Minister will want to discuss with the Secretary their plans with respect to NATO."
Kirby also commented on Turkey's position vis-a-vis Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO, saying that the US is still working to clarify Ankara's position on the matter.
"We are still working to clarify Turkey’s position on this, they are a valued NATO ally," Kirby told a briefing.
Finland, alongside its neighbor to the West, Sweden, is expected to request NATO membership in the coming months - before summer. Their accession, if it were to happen, would redefine European security and would be met with opposition from Russia, which has been very vocal about its opposition to NATO's expansion.
White House: "Confident" NATO will reach consensus on Sweden, Finland
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the United States is "confident" that its NATO allies will be able to reach a consensus regarding Sweden and Finland's bid to join the North Atlantic Alliance Organization, despite Turkey's concerns.
"I know there was a question about what the Turkish government said about Finland and Sweden. The Secretary [Antony Blinken] spoke to this during his press conference in Berlin ... So what he said is we are confident we will reach consensus as an alliance on an entry process should they decide to apply," Jean-Pierre told a press briefing.
Read more: Finland, Sweden joining NATO to provoke Russia reaction: Putin
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday that the majority of the Turkish people oppose the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO over their open support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara designated as terrorist.Â
"The problem for Turkey is that Finland and Sweden are supporting PKK, and Turkey is seeking solidarity from a military alliance," Cavusoglu said at the doorstep of the informal meeting of NATO ministers of foreign affairs in Berlin, Germany.
