The NATO Secretary General expressed confidence that they will be able to resolve differences after Ankara’s objections to the admission of the two Scandinavian countries to the alliance.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that he is convening a meeting of high-ranking representatives of Finland, Sweden and Turkey in an attempt to overcome Ankara’s objections to the entry of the two Scandinavian countries into the alliance.
Stoltenberg told reporters, without going into details, that the talks will take place in Brussels “in a few days.”
“I am sure we will find a way out,” he said.
Concerned about security issues in connection with Russia’s war in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in May. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to block them, saying that they are not making sufficient efforts to combat Kurdish extremism.
When asked how long it might take to end the standoff, Stoltenberg said he wanted it to happen before the NATO summit.
The U.S. President Joe Biden, Erdogan and their NATO colleagues will meet in Madrid on June 28-30.
“We want to make sure that the concerns of all allies in the security sphere are taken into account, and this includes Turkey,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
