Turkey and the United States reviewed the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO

According to Reuters, IRNA reported on Tuesday morning that the Turkish presidency’s office’s senior national security adviser told his US counterpart that Turkey wanted concrete steps by Finland and Sweden against terrorist organizations in the two countries before considering their membership in NATO. .

The statement added: “In this conversation, Colin told his American counterpart that countries wishing to join NATO must internalize the values ​​and principles of the coalition in the field of security and the fight against terrorism.” Sweden and Finland must take concrete steps against terrorist organizations that threaten Turkey’s national security.

The White House said in a statement that Sullivan supported Turkey’s continued direct talks with Sweden and Finland to address concerns about their membership in NATO. The two sides discussed their continued support for Ukraine in the face of continued Russian aggression, as well as efforts by Turkey and the United States to enable the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to world markets.

According to IRNA, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously said that talks on Finland and Sweden’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have not been at the expected level. Say.

Two other sources have previously said that talks between the Finnish and Swedish delegations on Erdogan over the two countries’ membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had made little progress. It is unclear whether further talks will be held between the two countries’ delegations and Turkey.

All 30 NATO member states must approve the organization’s development plans and membership.

Turkey has challenged the two countries ‘membership in NATO because they have links to individuals affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara considers terrorists; The two countries stopped arms exports to Turkey in 2019 for this reason.

Sweden and Finland say they condemn terrorism and welcome possible co-operation with Ankara in this regard.

“Diplomatic efforts are underway,” said Finnish Foreign Minister Anne Linde. We can not make further statements at this time.