The two Nordic countries applied to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but faced opposition from Turkey
Officials from Turkey, Finland and Sweden They are expected to meet on Friday at an undisclosed location in Finland to discuss security concerns that Ankara has made a condition for allowing the two Nordic countries to join the NATO military alliance.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said earlier that the first meeting between the officials would aim to establish contacts and set goals for the cooperation the three countries agreed to by signing a memorandum of understanding at the NATO summit in Madrid in late June.
The two Nordic countries applied to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but faced opposition from Turkey, which accused them of imposing an arms embargo on Ankara and supporting what it calls terrorist organizations. After all a memorandum was signedbut there is a difference of opinion on what was agreed upon.
The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu demanded Sweden and Finland extradite suspects wanted by Turkey on terrorism-related charges, while the Nordic countries say they did not agree to any specific extraditions by signing the memorandum.
The Finnish Foreign Ministry has remained tight-lipped about today’s meeting, refusing to reveal the location or even the exact time of its meeting.
“It’s a security issue. If we were to say where Turkey’s high-ranking officials are at what time, we would give a rather irresponsible image of ourselves,” Foreign Ministry Secretary Dzuka Salovaara told public broadcaster YLE.
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