NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Turkey had legitimate security concerns related to its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance, Reuters reported on Sunday.
Turkey is blocking the Nordic countries from becoming NATO members citing their alleged failure to combat Kurdish terrorism. They should also lift an arms embargo, it says.
“These are legitimate concerns. This is about terrorism, it’s about weapons exports,” Stoltenberg said during a joint news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at the presidential summer residence in Naantali, a resort town in southwestern Finland, Reuters said.
Everyone should remember and understand that no NATO ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey, Stoltenberg said.
Turkey has been a key ally for NATO partly because of its strategic location, Stoltenberg said. It has also supported Ukraine in its war with Russia, he said.
Negotiations with Turkey would continue, Stoltenberg and Niinisto said. The two officials gave no indication of progress in the talks, Reuters reported. Senior officials from both countries visited Ankara late last month.
Ahval