Türkiye, Sweden, Finland agree to accelerate works for NATO bid

ANKARA

The officials from Türkiye, Sweden and Finland have agreed to intensify technical works for the two Nordic states’ accession to the alliance, said the Turkish presidency in a statement on Aug. 26.

The three countries held their first meeting in Helsinki to review the implementation of the trilateral agreement and steps to be taken in the coming period for Sweden and Finland to address Türkiye’s security concerns.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal and presidential advisor İbrahim Kalın represented the Turkish delegation while Sweden was represented by State Secretary Oscar Stenström and Finland by Permanent State Secretary Jukka Salovaara. Officials from the interior, justice ministries and intelligence services also attended the meeting.

According to the statement issued from the presidency, the participants determined the working principles of the Permanent Joint Mechanism and reviewed the implementation of the trilateral protocol.

Finland and Sweden did repeat their pledge to cooperate with Türkiye in its fight against terrorism and support its efforts to stop them, including the PKK, YPG and the FETÖ. The three countries decided to intensify technical works between the institutions for further cooperation in the areas set by the protocol.

Türkiye, Sweden and Finland signed a memorandum of understanding on June 29 on the sidelines of the NATO Summit for the two Nordic states’ joining the alliance. Türkiye said it can only greenlight their accession should it be assured that they will effectively fight against terror and extradite terror convicts.

Twenty-three member countries out of 30 have already approved Sweden and Finland’s bid to join NATO in their parliaments. Türkiye has long been urging the two countries to concretely support Türkiye’s fight against terror if they want to join the alliance.