HELSINKI, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Officials from Turkey, Finland and Sweden are due to meet in Finland on Friday, at an undisclosed location, to discuss security concerns Ankara has raised as a precondition for membership. of the two Nordic countries the NATO military alliance.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto earlier said the first meeting between the officials would aim to establish contacts and set cooperation goals agreed to by the three countries that signed a memorandum of understanding at the NATO summit. Madrid, end of June.
The two Nordic countries, which asked to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have come up against opposition from Turkey, which accuses them of an arms embargo and of supporting groups that she considers terrorists.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has asked Sweden and Finland to extradite suspects wanted by Turkey on terrorism-related charges, while the Nordic countries say they have not agreed to extraditions specific by signing the memorandum.
The Finnish Foreign Minister remained very discreet about Friday’s meeting, refusing to reveal the place or even the time.
“It’s a matter of security. If we were to say where the senior Turkish officials are and when, it would give us a neglected image,” said Jukka Salovaara, state secretary of Haavisto, Finnish public broadcaster YLE. (Report Anne Kauranen; French version Alize Degorce, told by Kate Entringer)