NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with the Prime Minister of Finland, then talked to the President of Turkey on his desire to win over Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the idea of accepting Finland and Sweden within the military alliance.
Mr. Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week, wrote on Twitter on Friday night that he used his visit to meet with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin. The two would have talked the need to address Turkey’s concerns in order to move forward to combine the two Nordic countries into the rangeNATO.
The invasion of the Vladimir Putin regime in Ukraine prompted two neighboring Russian states to apply for membership ofNATO. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan disagreed because he accused Sweden and Finland of supporting Kurdish fighters. The latter are considered terrorists by the Turkish government.
A constructive phone call
Jens Stoltenberg said he had a constructive phone call with Mr. Erdogan. He described Turkey as important ally and praised Turkey’s efforts in finding an agreement for the safe transportation of grains produced in Ukraine.
A global shortage is rampant due to Russia’s aggression. On Twitter, the Secretary General announced that the dialogue should continue with President Erdogan.
President Erdogan’s cabinet issued a written statement reminding of the fact he clarified that Sweden and Finland should make it clear that they have stopped supporting terrorism […]ended restrictions on the export of defense equipment to Turkey and that they were ready to show their solidarity with the alliance.¨
Next meeting in Brussels
These two Nordic states are among a list of countries that have imposed restrictions on arms sales in response to Turkey’s military invasion of northern Syria in 2019.
The diplomatic steps of the leader ofNATO came before a meeting of senior representatives from Sweden, Finland and Turkey scheduled for next week in Brussels. Turkish reluctance is the main topic on the agenda.
Source: Radio-Canada
