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Finland, Sweden and Turkey discussed Ankara’s ‘concerns’ about the two countries joining NATO

Officials from Turkey, Finland and Sweden agreed today to continue meetings in the coming months to discuss security concerns that Turkey has made a condition for allowing the two Nordic countries to join the NATO military alliance.

Officials from the three countries held their first meeting today in the southern Finnish city of Vandaa.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said the meeting was intended to establish contacts and set goals for the cooperation the countries agreed to by signing a memorandum of understanding at the NATO summit in Madrid in June.

“Participants discussed concrete steps for the implementation of the Tripartite Memorandum and agreed that this format will continue to meet at expert level during the autumn,” the Finnish Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued after the meeting.

The two Nordic countries applied to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but faced opposition from Turkey, which accused them of imposing an arms embargo on Ankara and supporting what it calls terrorist organizations.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu demanded Sweden and Finland extradite suspects wanted by Turkey on terrorism-related charges, while the Nordic countries say they did not agree to any specific extraditions by signing the memorandum.

Finland’s foreign ministry did not disclose the location or time of today’s meeting, but later said it took place in the city of Vandaa near the capital Helsinki.

Source: Capital

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