Turkish FM discusses NATO enlargement with alliance chief, Finnish counterpart

By Busra Nur Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish foreign minister on Friday discussed NATO enlargement with the alliance’s chief and his Finnish counterpart, according to diplomatic sources.

Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in separate phone calls.

Finland officially applied for NATO membership along with Sweden in May last year, a decision spurred by Russia’s war on Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, 2022.

The two country’s membership to NATO is subject to ratification by all 30 member states.

But Türkiye – a NATO member for more than 70 years – voiced objections, accusing the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups including the PKK and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye.

Last June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum at a NATO summit to address Ankara's legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.

In the memorandum, Sweden and Finland agreed not to provide support to the PKK, its offshoots, and FETO, prevent all activities of the terror groups, extradite terror suspects, introduce new legislation to punish terrorist crimes, and end all arms embargoes among the three countries.