According to Turkish President Erdoğan, the speed of ratification of Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO memberships is determined “on the basis of the actions taken by the countries”.
21:17•Updated 21:19
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the military alliance of the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg the meeting has ended in Istanbul, says the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet (you switch to another service).
According to Hürriyet, the meeting lasted two and a half hours. The topics of the discussions were, among other things, Finland’s and Sweden’s membership in NATO and the Black Sea Grain Export Agreement.
Hürriyet writes that, according to Erdoğan, the speed of ratification of Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO memberships is determined “on the basis of the actions taken by the countries”, referring to the memorandum of understanding signed by the countries in the summer and the matters agreed in it.
Erdoğan’s comments can be interpreted to mean that no significant breakthrough was achieved in the discussions.
Erdoğan and Stoltenberg first talked face to face and then with their delegations. The discussions were held behind closed doors from the media, and no announcement has been made about a possible press conference.
In a message published on the messaging service Twitter, Stoltenberg thanked Erdoğan for his role in the continuation of the grain export agreement.
The Secretary General also reiterated his position that Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO memberships make the defense alliance stronger, but did not provide more detailed information about the day’s discussions.
Stoltenberg is in Turkey on a three-day visit that ends tomorrow.
Before meeting the president, Stoltenberg met the Turkish defense minister earlier in the day Hulusi Akari.
Yesterday, Thursday, Stoltenberg met the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. At the press conference after the meeting, Stoltenberg took a stand in favor of the ratification of Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership.
Stoltenberg said that Finland and Sweden kept the promises they made to Turkey at the NATO summit in June about the fight against terrorism, which is why the NATO membership processes should be completed.
Çavuşoğlu replied that Finland and Sweden still have work to do in fulfilling their promises.
Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have not yet ratified Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership.
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