Berlin: The informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers continues today

The informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the NATO member countries continues today (for the 2nd day).

A working dinner was held last night, while today the main part of the talks is scheduled. In fact, at 15:30 (Greek time) a joint press conference is scheduled for German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The subject of the meeting will be their long-term strategy towards Russia (after its invasion of Ukraine), along with the prospects of joining the Atlantic Alliance of Finland and Sweden.

Mr. Stoltenberg will participate online, as a few days ago he was positive for the coronavirus. NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Joanna will take part in the work in Berlin. On the contrary, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who had also contracted coronavirus and therefore did not go to Schleswig-Holstein for the meeting of the Group of Foreign Ministers, will attend the informal Council of the Alliance in a physical presence. Seven.

Among other things, the position that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu will take in the meeting regarding the possibility of joining the Sweden-Finland Alliance is expected to be of particular interest.

It is worth noting that Turkish President Erdogan said yesterday that it is not possible for Turkey to support plans for Sweden and Finland to join NATO because these Scandinavian countries “host many terrorist organizations”.

However, in a statement, the Turkish president’s spokesman said that Turkey “has not closed the door” on Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO, but wants negotiations with the Nordic countries and the suppression of the terrorist activities they consider to be carried out. , especially in Stockholm.

According to the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Andrea Zache, the informal context of the meeting aims to consciously differ from the official one so far, and for this reason, among other things, much smaller, confidential groups have been provided for direct talks. “The informal framework serves, among other things, the goal of strengthening NATO’s political dimension and political consultation,” she said. “The informal framework serves, among other things, the goal of strengthening NATO’s political dimension and political consultation,” he added.

Today’s meeting will take place the day after Finnish President Sauli Niinisto had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which focused on the Nordic country’s imminent bid to join NATO.

Finland opposes Finland’s candidacy. Finland’s official decision on joining the Euro-Atlantic Alliance is expected to be announced today, while neighboring Sweden is also expected to announce its decision on NATO membership in the coming days.

The Strategic Concept is expected to provide a long-term response to growing tensions with Russia, including clarifying how to further strengthen NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe and, for the first time, guidance on China.

The final draft is expected to be adopted by NATO leaders at their upcoming summit in Madrid in June.

The issue of how to respond to the consequences of the Russian war is also at the heart of the talks at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting that began yesterday and will end today in northern Germany.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, who attended the meeting, warned of a breakdown in negotiations on imposing an embargo on Russian oil, while Britain voted in favor of providing more weapons to Ukraine.

The EU also announced yesterday that it plans to provide an additional € 500 million in aid to the Ukrainian armed forces, which is expected to be approved by EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

For its part, the United States, through its representative, said that they are working to clarify the comments made by the President of Turkey on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. However, Ankara’s position in the Alliance has not changed because of these statements, a Pentagon spokesman said yesterday.

Tsavousoglou statements

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu said his country was ready to discuss Sweden and Finland joining NATO, but described the two countries’ “unacceptable and outrageous” support for the Kurdish PKK, according to Reuters.

“Turkey has supported NATO ‘s open door policy from the beginning. Even when some people were against the accession of some countries in our region and in the Western Balkans, we supported their accession. But NATO is not a union or an international organization, it is an alliance. “The issue is not only security, but also solidarity, when the allies need it,” Tsavousoglou said as he attended a working dinner at an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin.

“The problem is that these two countries openly support and have relations with the PKK and the YPG. These two are terrorist organizations that attack our troops every day, even yesterday we lost a soldier on our territory,” Tsavousoglou continued. .

“Therefore, it is unacceptable and outrageous that our friends and allies are supporting terrorist organizations,” he added.

The Turkish Foreign Minister also stated that “due to Turkey’s fight against this terrorist organization, export restrictions have been imposed on the defense industry products that we import from our allies and some countries that are planning to join NATO.”

“That is why the vast majority of the Turkish people are against the accession of these countries and are asking us to prevent this accession,” he added.

However, he concluded that “these are issues that we need to discuss with our allies in NATO as well as with these countries.”

Turkish-Finnish Foreign Minister talks

Finnish Foreign Minister Peka Haavisto said he had spoken with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu in order to “reduce tensions”, which was triggered by the aforementioned reservations expressed by the Turkish side about the possible accession of F.

“I’m optimistic that we will find a solution,” Haavisto told NATO’s informal council of foreign ministers in Berlin yesterday. Finland and for this the process can take months. “And of course all member states have the potential to prevent or delay accession,” he added. During this period, he stressed, the guarantees of other member states for the security of the country are important, as, as he said, it will not be covered by Article 5 of the NATO Treaty.

Regarding a possible reaction from Russia, Mr. Khavisto stressed that the two countries share a peaceful common border and “we want to keep it that way”, while clarifying that “we do not ask permission” from Moscow, but we communicate. He expressed the belief that in the end, both Finland and Sweden would become members of the Alliance.

Nikos Dendias: Greece is “ready to welcome Sweden and Finland to the NATO family”

Greece is “ready to welcome Sweden and Finland to the NATO family” and believes that “they have a lot to offer”, said Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, attending the working dinner of the informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers at the German Foreign Ministry.

“I look forward to a very interesting dinner. The main menu will be the Russian invasion of Ukraine and something that is of particular importance to all NATO member states, the reception of Sweden and Finland,” Dendias said. Greece has always had “excellent relations” with the two countries, which are also members of the European Union.

“Consequently, the Greek side has a very clear position. We are ready to welcome Sweden and Finland to the NATO family. We believe that they have a lot to offer,” he added.

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