Talks on Finland, Sweden's NATO bids to continue: Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday said that talks on Finland and Sweden's applications for NATO membership will continue and he looked forward to finding a way forward within quickest possible time.

“So we will continue our talks on Finland and Sweden's applications for NATO membership, and I look forward to finding a way forward as soon as possible,” said the NATO Chief after a meeting among the officials of Finland, Sweden and Turkey in Brussels, according to a NATO press release.

Senior officials from Finland, Sweden and Turkey met with senior NATO officials at the Alliance’s headquarters at the invitation of Stoltenberg.

Chaired by Stian Jenssen, Director of the Secretary General’s Private Office, the talks focused on the security concerns raised by Turkey in order to make progress on the NATO membership applications by Finland and Sweden.

The Finnish delegation was led by Petri Hakkarainen, Director of Foreign and Security Policy in the Office of the President of Finland, the Swedish delegation was led by Oscar Stenström, State Secretary with responsibility for Foreign Affairs and the Security Policy Council, in the Office of the Prime Minister of Sweden and the Turkish delegation was led by Ambassador İbrahim Kalın, Presidential Spokesperson and Special Advisor to the President of Turkey.

“Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO would make the Alliance stronger and the whole Euro-Atlantic area more secure. Türkiye has legitimate security concerns over terrorism that we need to address,” said Stoltenberg.

Monday’s talks followed a series of meetings in recent weeks designed to address Turkey´s security concerns and make progress on Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership applications.

Discussions will continue in the coming days, the NATO press release added.