Turkey to host talks with Sweden, Finland on NATO bids

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inspects a military honor guard during a ceremony marking the docking of the Hızır Reis and the first welding of the Selman Reis submarines, Kocaeli, Turkey, May 23, 2022. Erdogan, whose country has objected to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, called on Stockholm to take "concrete steps" that would alleviate Turkey's security concerns. (Turkish Presidency via AP Photo)

by Anadolu Agency

May 24, 2022 11:30 pm

Turkey is set to host consultations on the NATO membership applications of Sweden and Finland, the Foreign Ministry stated Tuesday.

The Turkish delegation will be headed by Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal at the meeting, set to be held Wednesday in the capital Ankara, said a statement by the country's Foreign Ministry.

Stockholm and Helsinki will be represented by Swedish State Secretary Oscar Stenstrom and Finnish Permanent State Secretary Jukka Salovaara, along with their respective delegations, it added.

The meeting is set to be held at the Presidential Complex at 1 p.m. local time (11 a.m. GMT), according to the Presidential Spokesperson's office.

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO last week – a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.

However, Turkey, a longstanding member of NATO who also has the second-largest standing army of the alliance, has voiced objections to their membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.