Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register ANKARA, June 20 (Reuters) – Talks between Turkey, Finland and Sweden on the Nordic countries’ NATO membership will continue and next week’s alliance summit in Madrid is not a deadline, Turkey said after talks in Brussels. Monday. Finland and Sweden have applied to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the offers met with opposition from Turkey, which has been outraged by Helsinki and Stockholm’s support for Kurdish fighters and the arms embargo in Ankara. Last week, Turkey said the documents it received from Sweden and NATO in response to previous written demands made by the two candidates were far from meeting its expectations and that any negotiations must first address Turkish concerns. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Speaking to reporters in Brussels along with Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Ankara expects Sweden to take immediate action on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group in the country. . “Any progress in the Scandinavian candidacy” now depends on the direction and speed with which these countries take action, “he said. Talks in Brussels with officials from Sweden, Finland and NATO were held in an “open and honest atmosphere,” he said. “As we look at these steps, we will all have the opportunity to assess the direction of this process,” he said. Onal said Turkey expects a change of approach from Sweden and Finland, and that Ankara needs “binding promises” to address its concerns. “We do not consider ourselves constrained by any timetable. The speed, the scope of this process depends on how and how quickly these nations meet our expectations,” he said. Petri Hakkarainen, the Finnish president’s foreign and security adviser and head of the Finnish delegation to the talks in Brussels, said the two sides had made “clear progress” on some issues. But it would take time to gain understanding for others, he said. NATO leaders will meet in Madrid on June 29-30. Any membership in NATO requires the approval of all 30 members of the alliance. Turkey has been an NATO ally for more than 70 years and has the alliance’s second largest army. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ali Kucukgocmen. Additional report by Anne Kauranen in Helsinki. Editing by Alex Richardson and Angus MacSwan Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
