NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg speaks with Türkiye president Recep Tayyip Erdogan about Finland, Sweden joining

Brussels: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has met with Finland’s prime minister and spoken to Türkiye’s president as he seeks to overcome Turkish resistance to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance. Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week, tweeted late Friday that he met with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin while there and discussed “the need to address Türkiye’s concerns and move forward” with the Finnish and Swedish membership applications.

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

Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed the Nordic countries to apply to join NATO, but Türkiye’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Sweden and Finland of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Türkiye to be terrorists. Stoltenberg said he had a “constructive phone call” with Erdogan, calling Türkiye 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. Stoltenberg tweeted that he and Erdogan would continue their dialogue, without elaborating. The NATO chief’s diplomatic efforts came before a gathering of senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Türkiye next week in Brussels, where NATO is based, to discuss Türkiye’s opposition to the applications. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.