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NATO chief says he had ‘no reason to believe’ Turkiye would block Nordic membership

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General

13 June 2022 16:19 (UTC +04:00)

Nato’s secretary-general insisted he had “no reason to believe” Turkiye would block Finland and Sweden’s bids to join the military alliance when he promised the Nordic countries a quick accession process in April, APA reports citing Financial Times.

Jens Stoltenberg told the Financial Times that it was still possible to overcome Ankara’s “legitimate” concerns over terrorism and arms sales “within a reasonable time”.

Stoltenberg said on Monday: “My goal is to have Finland and Sweden as members as soon as possible. It can still be quick compared with other accession processes.”

“The Turkish concerns on terrorism are legitimate. Because no Nato ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkiye . . . We will sit down with Türkiye and find a common way forward,” Stoltenberg said, using the name for the country favored by Erdogan.

He also praised Magdalena Andersson, Sweden’s prime minister whom he will visit later on Monday, for “Swedish readiness to address Türkiye’s concerns” by amending anti-terror laws and suggesting arms sales to Ankara could be made easier.