Turkish authorities declined an invitation from NATO to take part in trilateral talks with Sweden and Finland aimed at resolving the differences between the countries wishing to join the alliance and Ankara, which opposes their accession. The Financial Times reported this on Wednesday, citing sources.
According to their information, the meeting, which was to be attended by representatives of the three countries and a neutral mediator from NATO, was scheduled for Wednesday. But Turkey said it would not take part in any talks until it receives concrete proposals from Helsinki and Stockholm to ease security concerns.
A senior NATO source told the newspaper that the trilateral meeting, mediated by alliance officials, was the "ultimate goal," which the alliance has not yet achieved.
The Finnish and Swedish ambassadors to NATO, Klaus Korhonen and Axel Vernhoff, presented NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg with their states' applications to join the alliance on May 18. On the same day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the republic would not support the admission of these countries to NATO until they defined their attitude toward terrorist organizations, in particular, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which Ankara considers such. On May 21, he said that Turkey would support the accession of those countries if they clearly demonstrated solidarity with Ankara over its security concerns.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: LoggaWiggler/Pixabay
Based on materials from TASS