NATO hosts a trio Turkey-Sweden-Finland talks

• NATO has convened trilateral talks with Turkey, Sweden, and Finland in an effort to address Ankara’s opposition to the two Nordic countries joining the military alliance.
• Talks were described as “constructive” and will continue in the coming days.
• The alliance is attempting to resolve the standoff prior to next week’s annual summit.

At its headquarters in Brussels, NATO has convened trilateral negotiations with Turkey, Sweden, and Finland in an effort to address Ankara’s opposition to the two Nordic countries joining the military alliance.

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NATO said in a statement that the talks with senior officials from all three nations were “constructive” and will continue in the coming days. The alliance is attempting to resolve the standoff prior to next week’s annual summit in Madrid.

The Turkish government had previously declined NATO’s invitations to host trilateral talks, the Financial Times reported last week.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last month in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Turkey has blocked progress on accession talks, labeling the two countries “terrorist incubators” and accusing Sweden of failing to crack down on members of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), an armed militia that has fought the Turkish state since the 1980s, and its affiliates.

“I applaud today’s productive meeting on the historic NATO membership applications of Finland and Sweden,” stated NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. He added: “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.”

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The discussions were chaired by Stoltenberg’s chief of staff, and top officials from the cabinets of the three heads of state were present.