Turkey, Sweden and Finland agree to more talks on NATO accession
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman and foreign affairs adviser Ibrahim Kalin, who took part in Thursday’s talks, described the meeting as “positive.”
ISTANBUL — Turkey acknowledged on Thursday that Sweden and Finland have taken "some steps" in addressing Ankara's concerns over their bids to join NATO, and that more meetings will be underway to resolve outstanding issues.
Talks between Turkey, Sweden and Finland on the northern expansion of NATO resumed in Brussels, six weeks after a Quran-burning protest in Stockholm led Ankara to suspend negotiations.
The discussions about the Nordic countries’ applications to join the Atlantic defense alliance were focused on how far Sweden and Finland have gone in meeting Turkish demands, particularly changes to stiffen counterterrorism laws.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman and foreign affairs adviser Ibrahim Kalin, who took part in Thursday’s talks, described the meeting as “positive.” He added, “We noted that some steps taken [by Sweden and Finland] were satisfactory, but of course, the process is not over yet.”
