NATO summit is not deadline for talks on Finland and Sweden's NATO bids, Turkiye

Diplomatic meetings between Turkiye, Finland and Sweden about the Nordic countries’ NATO membership will continue and an alliance summit in Madrid next week is not a deadline, Turkiye said after talks in Brussels on Monday, Reuters reports.

According to the report, Turkiye said documents it received from Sweden and NATO in response to the earlier written demands it presented the two candidates, were far from meeting its expectations and any negotiations must first address Turkish concerns.

Last month, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the bids have faced opposition from Turkiye, which has been angered by what it says is Helsinki and Stockholm’s support for PKK terrorist groups and arms embargoes on Ankara.

Deputy Foreign Minister, Sedat Onal, Turkish presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said Ankara was expecting Sweden to take immediate steps regarding actions by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group in its country.

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