The meeting organized at official level is based on the tripartite agreement made at the NATO summit in Madrid in June.
The representatives of Finland, Sweden and Turkey will meet in Finland during August, says the foreign minister Pekka Haavisto (green).
According to Haavisto, the meeting is related to the tripartite agreement between Finland, Sweden and Turkey made at the NATO summit in Madrid in June. The meeting is organized at official level. At the meeting, discussions will be continued on the basis of the memorandum of understanding drawn up in Madrid.
– That’s when it was agreed, among other things, on increased official cooperation between Finland, Turkey and Sweden in the fight against terrorism. These relevant authorities will be involved in the discussions. We will go through where we are going at the moment, Haavisto said at a press conference organized in connection with the summer meeting of the green ministerial group in Mikkeli.
– So far, we already have quite a lot of official cooperation with Turkey. Let’s go through it and see what more can be done, Haavisto continued.
In the future, meetings in accordance with the tripartite agreement will be held alternately in all three countries, according to Haavisto.
– This is where the regular rhythm of civil servants’ meetings begins with this meeting in Finland, Haavisto characterized.
The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported on Thursday that a meeting between Finland, Sweden and Turkey would be held in Sweden next week, Friday, August 26. The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the information presented by Aftonbladet.
Turkey the last ratifier?
According to Haavisto, he has no new information about how the ratification of Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership is progressing in Turkey.
So far, 23 of NATO’s 30 member countries have already ratified Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership, but Turkey has not yet.
Haavisto says that he presented to the Turkish Foreign Minister For Mevlut Cavusoglu during the summer to the hope that Turkey would ratify the membership of Finland and Sweden at the same pace as the other NATO countries.
– Of course, it is also up to the parliament there. Maybe we will hear something new at the official level when their delegation visits Finland, Haavisto said.
Haavisto said that he asked Cavusoglu that Turkey is not going to be the last NATO country to ratify the membership of Finland and Sweden.
– I haven’t received a direct answer to this yet, Haavisto said.