Security concerns of our allies must be taken into account, talks must continue -NATO responds to Turkey’s block of Sweden and Finland’s membership

The Transatlantic military alliance, NATO said Turkey, Finland and Sweden need to continue to discuss terms such as alliance figures on how to accept Finland and NATO as members while still complying with Turkey’s security requirements.

Turkey claims Sweden and Finland are holding people linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, Ankara accusing him of plotting a coup d’etat in 2016.

For this reason, Turkey says it will not support Finland and Sweden’s request to join NATO. According to Nato rules, all 30 member states must vote to support any other country that wishes to join the alliance.

Turkey has said it opposes the two countries joining a military alliance, but Western leaders have expressed confidence that Ankara’s position will not be a roadblock to Nato’s entry into power.

On Saturday, May 21, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he had spoken to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the importance of open Nato policy following Finland and Sweden’s requests to join the military alliance.

Repeatedly, the Turkish president told him that Ankara would not consider the claims of Sweden and Finland, unless they clearly demonstrated cooperation in the fight against ‘terrorism’ and other issues.

Erdogan has held calls with leaders of both countries on Saturday to discuss his concerns.

Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter: “We agree that the security concerns of all our partners must be addressed and negotiations must continue to find a solution.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had told Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson that Ankara was awaiting firm action on its concerns about terrorist organizations.

Erdogan also said he expected the lifting of the arms embargo on Turkey after its entry into Syria in 2019, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu.