US and UK call on Sweden and Finland to accept Türkiye's request
(Baonghean.vn) - Türkiye's Hurriyet newspaper reported on June 2 that the US and the UK are negotiating behind the scenes, and called on Sweden and Finland to address Ankara's concerns about the NATO membership of these two Nordic countries.
The paper wrote: "The main issue on the agenda of the NATO Inter-Parliamentary Union General Assembly, held in Lithuania, was the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO. At the meeting held in the capital Vilnius from May 27-30, it was learned that European politicians all had similar views on solving Türkiye's problems and called for reconciliation. According to the information provided, the US and the UK lobbied Sweden and Finland to meet Türkiye's demands. Turkish parliamentarians present at the meeting said that many foreign parliamentarians considered the Ankara government's demands to be legitimate."
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| NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Photo: AP |
Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO has confrontational goals. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation - Dmitry Peskov stated that further expansion of the alliance will not bring greater security to Europe.
At the same time, the representative of the Russian President noted that he does not consider Sweden and Finland joining NATO as an existential threat to Russia. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that abandoning Finland's traditional policy of military neutrality would be a mistake, as there is no threat to the country's security.
On the same day, the Turkish government's Resmi Gazete newspaper reported that President Tayyip Erdogan decided to replace the ambassadors to Sweden and Finland due to disagreements regarding the two Nordic countries' desire to join NATO.
Accordingly, President Erdogan's new decree appoints Ambassadors to 25 countries and replaces Ambassadors to Sweden and Finland. Mr. Deniz Cakar, who previously held the position of Director of the Department of International Promotion and Culture under the Turkish Foreign Ministry, was appointed Ambassador to Finland; while Mr. Can Tezel, who previously held the position of Director of the Department of Bilateral Political Affairs under the Turkish Foreign Ministry, was appointed Ambassador to Sweden.
The Helsinki and Stockholm governments have initiated negotiations with Ankara regarding NATO membership, but have yet to achieve any results. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed the need for written commitments from Finland and Sweden that the two countries will end their support for terrorism./.
