Türkiye raised 'important security concerns' over Finland, Sweden NATO bids: US

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Türkiye has raised "important security concerns" about Finland and Sweden's NATO membership bids, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.

The top US diplomat said he is "confident" that the effort to gain Türkiye and Hungary's support for their additions to the transatlantic alliance is "moving forward in a process that is appropriate, and that we will soon welcome them as members."

"Turkey has raised important security concerns in this process, and the process is being used effectively and productively to address those concerns," Blinken said as he hosted his Finnish and Swedish counterparts at the State Department.​​​​​​​

Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in May, abandoning decades of military non-alignment, a decision spurred by Russia's war against Ukraine.

But Türkiye -- a NATO member for more than 70 years -- voiced objections, accusing the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.

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