ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would hold talks with Finland on Saturday over its application to join NATO, while maintaining his opposition to its entry as well as that of Sweden in the alliance.
Finland and Sweden, which remained neutral on military alliances throughout the Cold War, formally requested to join NATO on Wednesday in response to what they see as a fundamentally altered security environment following the invasion. Russian from Ukraine.
Turkey’s president said he discussed the matter with the Dutch prime minister on Friday and would also address Britain on Saturday.
“Of course, we will continue all these discussions so as not to interrupt diplomacy,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters.
Turkey accuses Sweden and Finland of harboring on their soil members of organizations considered to be terrorists by Ankara, such as the Kurdish movements PKK and YPG or the supporters of Imam Fethullah Gülen, held responsible for a coup attempt in 2016.
Western leaders have expressed confidence that Ankara’s objections will not constitute an obstacle to the process of joining the two Nordic countries to NATO.
(Reporting Ece Toksabay and Can Sezer, written by Daren Butler; French version Diana Mandiá, editing by Kate Entringer)
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