Finland Takes Turkey's Concerns Over NATO Entry Seriously, In Touch With Ankara - Niinisto

Finland takes Turkey's concerns about its accession to NATO seriously and will continue discussions with Ankara in the coming days, President Sauli Niinisto said on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2022) Finland takes Turkey's concerns about its accession to NATO seriously and will continue discussions with Ankara in the coming days, President Sauli Niinisto said on Thursday.

"The Turkish leadership has recently expressed concerns about our membership application. I want to address these concerns today," Niinisto said during a press conference with US President Joe Biden and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.

"As NATO allies we will commit to Turkey's security just as Turkey will commit to our security. We take terrorism seriously. We condemn terrorism in all its forms, and we are actively engaged in combating it.

We are open to discussing all the concerns Turkey may have concerning our membership in an open and constructive manner. These discussions are already taking place and they will continue in the next days," he added.

The two nations submitted their NATO membership applications to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday. Whether the two countries will be admitted to the alliance hinges on unanimous approval by NATO member states.

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara has informed its NATO allies that it will say no to the membership of Sweden and Finland, and will not change its position.