Although he acknowledged that there is no progress on this issue, he expressed his satisfaction at the fact that Turkey has agreed to talk with him about bid-blocking.
The progress made by Turkey in negotiations over objections to Sweden’s and Finlands memberships in NATO is itself progress, said Sauli Nisto (Finnish President) to journalists Tuesday. But he said that there were no changes in the status of the dispute.
“In substance itself there was not that much progress. But surely we have to be satisfied that the discussion is now open,”In a joint press conference, the Finnish leader and Roberta Metsola were heard speaking.
Niinisto was talking about the discussions that Turkey and Sweden held in Brussels last Monday. Ankara rejected the US-led military bloc’s application to the Nordic countries for joining it last month. It claimed that the country harbored Kurdish terrorists, among other grievances.
Sedat Onal (Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister) said that talks took place in “open and sincere atmosphere,”It was the responsibility of Europe to quickly respond to Turkish requests if they wanted to join NATO.
“We don’t see ourselves limited by any timetable. The speed and scope of this process depends on these nations’ manner and speed of meeting our expectations,”According to the official.
Onal was speaking about the forthcoming summit of NATO leaders to be held in Madrid, June 29-30. Before Turkey’s objections were raised, it was anticipated that the summit would approve formal applications from Sweden and Finland. For the accession to take place, each member has to ratify it.
When asked by a journalist if he believes his country will be included in NATO by September of this year, President Niinisto stated that it is still possible but admitted that it may not happen.
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