[ad_1]
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has met with the Prime Minister of Finland and talked with the President of Turkey, while seeking to overcome Turkish resistance to the unification of Finland and Sweden with the alliance.
Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week, tweeted late Friday that he had met with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and discussed “the need to address Turkey’s concerns and move forward” with Finnish and Swedish membership applications.
Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed the Nordic countries to apply for NATO membership, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Sweden and Finland of supporting Kurdish militants considered by Turkey to be terrorists.
Stoltenberg said he had a “constructive phone call” with Erdogan, calling Turkey a “valuable ally” and praising Turkey’s efforts to mediate an agreement to ensure the safe transport of grain supplies from Ukraine amid a global shortage of food caused by war.
Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter that he and Erdogan will continue their dialogue, without giving details.
The NATO chief’s diplomatic efforts came ahead of a meeting of senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey next week in Brussels, where NATO is based, to discuss Turkey’s opposition to the applications.
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
