The NATO secretary-general had in the past insisted that both countries be accepted “with open arms”, but Turkey blocked their candidacies.
Turkey’s blocking of Sweden, Finland’s NATO bids may not be resolved in time for Alliance summit scheduled for end of month, NATO secretary-general acknowledged Sunday Jens Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg said NATO was “working hard” to resolve it the “legitimate” issues raised by Turkey.
The NATO secretary-general had in the past insisted that both countries be accepted “with open arms”, but Turkey blocked their candidacies.
Ankara accuses them of offering refuge to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an organization that Turkey and its Western allies describe as “terrorist”.
“I want this issue to be resolved as soon as possible,” Stoltenberg told a joint news conference with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto.
However, “the Madrid summit it was never a deadline “, argued.
In early June, during a visit to Washington, Stoltenberg said his “intention” was to settle the issue before the NATO summit, which begins on June 28.
Stoltenberg said that the anchor expressed “legitimate concerns”.
“We must understand and remember that no other NATO ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey. And also that Turkey is an important ally with a strategic geographical location,” he said.
Any NATO membership agreement must be approved unanimously by its 30 members.
The two Scandinavian countries have repeatedly expressed surprise at Turkey’s objections, noting that Ankara had expressed support for their membership applications until they submitted them.
“Sometimes it is difficult to understand Turkey”
Spikes against Ankara’s uncompromising policy on Finland’s accession to NATO expressed for his part the president of the scandinavian country Sauli Niinisto in the context of the joint press conference with the Secretary General of NATO.
According to Niinisto, Finland has no major terrorism-related problems compared to other NATO countries. “That is why sometimes it is difficult to understand Turkey’s views” mentioned features.
Α –
