Turkey says Jun 29 summit 'not a deadline' for talks on Sweden & Finland's NATO bid

Turkey on Monday reiterated its stance on Sweden and Finland's membership application to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Turkey's Presidential spokesperson and top foreign policy advisor Ibrahim Kalin said that the Madrid Summit of the international military alliance "is not the deadline" on Ankara's concerns over Finland and Sweden joining the bloc. He added that Turkey will continue negotiations until the members reach a fruitful resolution on the same.

This comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on June 18 said he will carry "special documents" and files to the NATO convention that is set to be held in Madrid, Spain on June 29, to show to leaders. He had earlier, during a telephone conversation with NATO General -Secretary Jens Stoltenberg, warned that there would be "no progress" for both Finland and Sweden's NATO bid until the alliance finds a "concrete" solution that meets Ankara's expectations. In the file that Erdogan plans to carry to the summit, he will address the issue of the weapons supplied by Sweden and Finland to the terrorist organization PKK/YPG/PYD, including the evidence of financial and political support.

For the unversed, the developments come after two Nordic countries -Finland and Sweden finally dropped their decades of neutrality and forwarded their applications to join the intergovernmental military alliance -NATO in May. The state heads cited the volatility of the security situation at their country's borders in the wake of the Russian war in Ukraine. While Stoltenberg and the US welcomed Helinski and Stockholm with "open arms," both the Nordic countries have faced steep resistance from Turkey, which said it will veto the ascension provided their concerns are not addressed.

Turkey has accused Sweden of harbouring Kurdish militants, including the "notorious" PKK and its Syrian wing. Further, it has also demanded Sweden remove defence sales embargoes on Ankara. Last week, Turkey rubbished the documents it received from Finland and Helinski saying they were far from meeting the Turkish concerns.

Turkey 'ready' to host four-way meeting to facilitate Ukraine's grain exports

On the other hand, Turkey has emerged major mediator between Russia and Ukraine, although indirectly. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu said Ankara is ready to host a 4-way meeting with United Nations, Russia, and Ukraine to facilitate grain exports from a mutually agreed corridor. "If Russia answers positively, there will be a four-partite meeting in Istanbul," he said. The transcontinental country, which is walking on a tightrope between Moscow and Kyiv, houses the Bosphorus Strait which in turn, connects the Black Sea to Europe. 

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric showed a positive affirmation of the proposed plan. “We have been in very close contact and we are working in close cooperation with the Turkish authorities on this issue (of grain export),” he said. Furthermore, Dujarric emphasised that the role of the Turkish military is critical in such a situation.

(Image: AP)