Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has met with Finland’s prime minister and spoken to Turkey’s president as he seeks to overcome Turkish resistance to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
Mr Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week, tweeted late on Friday that he met with Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin while there and discussed “the need to address Turkey’s concerns and move forward” with the Finnish and Swedish membership applications.
Great to meet with Prime Minister @MarinSanna of our close partner #Finland in Washington. We discussed the need to address #Turkey's concerns & move forward with the #NATO membership application by Finland & Sweden. pic.twitter.com/wPTjhYHMLy
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) June 3, 2022
Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed the Nordic countries to apply to join Nato, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Sweden and Finland of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Turkey to be terrorists.
Mr Stoltenberg said he had a “constructive phone call” with Mr Erdogan, calling Turkey a “valued ally” and praising Turkish efforts to broker a deal to ensure the safe transportation of grain supplies from Ukraine amid global food shortages caused by Russia’s invasion.
Constructive phone call with President @RTErdogan. #Türkiye is a valued Ally & we commend their efforts to broker a deal over food security. We addressed #Finland's and #Sweden's #NATO accession & will continue our dialogue.
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) June 3, 2022
Mr Stoltenberg tweeted that he and Mr Erdogan would continue their dialogue, without elaborating.
The Nato chief’s diplomatic efforts came before a gathering of senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey next week in Brussels, where Nato is based, to discuss Turkey’s opposition to the applications.
