US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday he was “confident” that NATO would accept membership applications from Finland and Sweden, despite Turkey’s reservations on this subject.
At a press conference during a trip to Berlin, Blinken said he had spoken with his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, about membership applications to NATO from Sweden and Finland.
« I do not want to characterize the specific conversation we had, whether with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, or within the NATO sessions themselves, but I can say this: I heard, almost everywhere, a very strong support for Finland and NATO joining the Alliance if that is what they choose to do. And I am very confident that we will reach a consensus on this point.“, affirmed Mr. Blinken.
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The head of the American diplomacy traveled to Europe this week to meet with the other members of NATO about their response to the war between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the measures taken by the Finland and Sweden to join the transatlantic security alliance.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed earlier this week his opposition to Finland’s and Sweden’s application for NATO membership.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has also maintained that he does not expect Turkey’s concerns to delay membership for Sweden and Finland, although any approval will require member consensus. current.
« I am confident that we will be able to address the concerns expressed by Turkey in a way that will not delay accession“said Mr. Stoltenberg, according to the Archyde.com agency.
With MAP