The Swedish Foreign Minister says that negotiations over Ankara’s opposition to the requests of Sweden and Finland to join NATO have made progress, and a breakthrough could be achieved at the current NATO summit in Madrid.
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Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Lind
Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Lind said today, Tuesday, that negotiations aimed at overcoming Turkey’s objections to Sweden’s bid to join NATO have made progress, and a breakthrough could be achieved at the current NATO summit in Madrid.
“We are prepared for the possibility of something positive happening today, but it may take longer,” Lindh told a local newspaper, adding that “in that case, we will be patient, and continue discussions even after the summit.”
In turn, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said today, Tuesday, that there is somewhat more mutual understanding between Finland and Turkey, before the NATO summit.
He added that he was neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the outcome of the ongoing negotiations with Turkey regarding Finland’s request to join the military alliance, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opposed.
Today, Tuesday, the Turkish president stuck to his position on Finland and Sweden, saying that Turkey “wants results, not words, in response to its concerns,” adding that he will urge US President Joe Biden to resolve the crisis of the “faltering” F-16 fighter jet deal.
Violating decades of neutrality, Finland and Sweden have applied to join NATO in light of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, but they face opposition from Turkey over what it says is their support for groups it considers terrorist and an arms embargo imposed on Ankara.
Turkey has held talks with the two countries and NATO to address its concerns, and has submitted written requests to officials in Sweden and Finland. She said that The response to her requests was not satisfactoryAnd it will oppose their request to join the alliance unless the two countries meet their demands.
Erdogan said, before leaving for the NATO summit in Madrid, that He will meet with the leaders of Sweden, Finland and the Alliance for talks on the application to joinHe added that the two countries should take Ankara’s concerns into consideration for NATO membership.
He added to reporters at the airport: “We will hold those four-way talks, and we will see the extent to which they will reach,” and continued: “We do not want dry words, but rather results.”
Erdogan’s spokesman and deputy foreign minister met Swedish and Finnish officials in Brussels on Monday for consultations on the membership application ahead of the four-way talks. Turkish officials and Western diplomats told Archyde.com that a breakthrough in Madrid was unlikely.
Erdogan said he would explain Turkey’s position to allies at the summit and in bilateral meetings. He added that he spoke to Biden, this morning, Tuesday, and they will meet later today or tomorrow, Wednesday, at the request of the US President.
He added that “the most important of our discussions with the United States is the issue of F-16s,” while the White House confirmed, at a later time, that Erdogan and Biden would meet in Madrid.
In turn, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Spain has confidence in the accession of Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Speaking at a press conference, today, Tuesday, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, during the NATO Summit held in Madrid, from 28-30 January, “Spain is sure that Sweden and Finland will join NATO, and is closely following NATO’s talks on joining them.”
AndFinland and Sweden have both formally applied To join NATO on May 18, the Turkish authorities have repeatedly stated that they will not support their accession to NATO until they provide written guarantees to Ankara that it refuses to support “terrorist organizations”.
The accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO requires the unanimous consent of the 30 members of the alliance.