Turkey, Sweden, Finland resume NATO talks

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Delegations from Turkey, Sweden and Finland gathered in Brussels yesterday (March 9) as part of the trilateral talks to discuss the Nordic countries' NATO membership bids.

The talks that began after a trilateral memorandum in June 2022 had stalled after the Quran-burning incidents in Sweden in January.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who opened the meeting, said, "Finland and Sweden have taken unprecedented steps to address legitimate Turkish security concerns."

As a result of the talks that have been going on since a June 2022 memorandum, there are no arms export restrictions between the three countries, they have enhanced counter-terrorism cooperation, and Sweden is tightening its anti-terrorism legislation, said a statement on NATO'S website.

Türkiye, Finland, and Sweden also agreed on the long-term value of the Permanent Joint Mechanism in fighting terrorism and agreed to continue cooperation in this format and meet again before the Vilnius Summit, said the NATO statement.

"Some steps are positive"

Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın, a member of Turkey's delegation, said, some steps of Finland and Sweden in some areas are "satisfactory," which Türkiye welcomes, however, adding, "Of course, the process is not finished yet."

"We also expressed our expectation that the necessary legal, judicial, administrative, and intelligence steps should be taken, especially in order to prevent terrorist financing, recruitment, propaganda of terrorism, and incitement to violence."

(AEK/VK)