Daily Sabah
June 17, 2022

‘NATO allies working actively to address Turkey’s concerns’

NATO allies take Turkey’s “legitimate concerns” related to the fight against terrorism seriously in the context of Sweden’s and Finland’s membership applications, the security bloc’s chief said Thursday, assuring that alliance members are working “actively to find a solution.”

Speaking at a news conference closing a two-day meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg commented on Turkey’s opposition to Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession.

“My aim is to find a solution as soon as possible,” he said.

Repeating his previous comments, Stoltenberg said: “I commend efforts by Turkey and President (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan to try to find a solution to get the grain out of Ukraine”….

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President Erdoğan on Wednesday said that Turkey will not change its stance on Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO bids until they take clear, concrete and decisive steps in the fight against terrorism.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also said Wednesday that Ankara appreciates NATO chief Stoltenberg’s efforts to address Turkey’s security concerns.

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Later in the day, Erdoğan spoke with the NATO chief over the phone and reiterated the steps required to address Ankara’s “legitimate” concerns over the NATO bids of Finland and Sweden.