Handan Kazanci
23 June 2022•Update: 23 June 2022
ISTANBUL
The NATO chief on Thursday reiterated the alliance’s support for Türkiye on its “legitimate security concerns” over Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bids.
“Türkiye has legitimate security concerns, and we are working to solve those with Finland and Sweden,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a joint news conference with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
“We will address Finland and Sweden’s historic applications for NATO membership, ensuring that the security interests of all allies are addressed while making progress in the accession process,” said Stoltenberg, referring to the NATO summit in Madrid next week.
Sweden and Finland, amid their NATO bids, are under pressure from Türkiye to end their support for the YPG/ PKK terror group, with Ankara saying that NATO is a security alliance and that any potential members must take a clear stance against terrorism.
Stoltenberg said he discussed with Fiala the alliance’s preparations for the NATO summit in Madrid on July 28-20.
“We’ll make important decisions in five key areas. We will agree NATO’s new strategic concepts, a blueprint for our alliance’s future,” he said.
“It will set out our joint position on Russia, emerging challenges and on China, as well as on our partnership with the European Union, which has reached unprecedented levels,” Stoltenberg added.
He also said “further decisions to support Ukraine and other parties at risk” will be taken at the summit.
“We will improve burden-sharing with more defense investment, to do more together.”
