According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Finland and Sweden are unlikely to become candidates for joining the alliance at the upcoming NATO summit if they do not comply with Turkey’s demands.
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“When an ally raises a problem, you have to solve it. That’s how it’s always been done,” he said.
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According to him, Sweden and Finland, as invited countries, will be able to take part in the alliance’s summit in Madrid, which will be held on June 28-30.
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At the same time, Stoltenberg noted that it would be “difficult for them to gain a foothold” as candidate countries if they did not respond to Turkey’s demands by June 28.
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Finland and Sweden against the background of the events in Ukraine on May 18 handed over to the NATO Secretary General an application for joining the alliance. Turkey has blocked the start of the review process for these applications. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara cannot say “yes” to the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO, because it cannot believe their assurances regarding links with representatives of the PKK banned in Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the country “needs a written agreement” with Sweden and Finland “on a concrete step” by these countries to stop their support for terrorism.
