US to press Turkey as Finland and Sweden seek NATO breakthrough

The White House confirmed that Biden would meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdan during the summit, which starts on Tuesday and lasts until Thursday. However, it was not clear how far Biden would go in order to end the impasse, according to three NATO diplomats.

Erdogan spent more than two hours in talks with Sauli Niinisto (Finland's President), Magdalena Andersson (Swedish Prime Minister) and Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General.

Negotiations were expected to continue well into the night, and Turkey, Sweden, and Finland agreed to prepare an agreement to address Ankara’s concerns about NATO membership for Helsinki, Stockholm, and Iltalehti, two Finnish newspapers reported.

Biden arrived in Madrid also before attending a dinner with NATO leaders. He did not address the issue directly in his comments to Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister, and King Felipe of Spain.

He stressed the unity of NATO, saying that NATO was "as strong as I believe it has ever been."

France and Spain were indirectly encouraging Turkey to surrender. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, called for a message of unity and force from NATO in Madrid at the Group of Seven summit.

Turkey's surprise objections to the Nordic countries' membership bid threatens to overshadow any summit seeking unity, as Russia wage war in Ukraine.

"The general opinion is that the discussions went somewhat more smoothly, which should indicate that understanding has somewhat increased between both sides," Niinisto from Finland told reporters in Helsinki on Tuesday.

Ann Linde, the Swedish Foreign Minister, said further to daily Svenska Dagbladet: "We are ready for the eventuality of something positive happening today, but it may also take longer."

Ankara demands that the Nordic countries cease supporting Kurdish militants groups on their territory and lift their bans on arms sales to Turkey.

These conditions are the subject of intense diplomacy by NATO allies as they try to seal the accession record in record time to solidify their response to Russia, especially in the Baltic Sea where Finnish and Swedish membership would give NATO military superiority.

Norway, Denmark, and the Baltic states, which are all NATO members, are located in the Nordic region. Moscow called the February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine a "special operation", and it helped to overturn decades-old opposition from Sweden to NATO membership.

"IF NOT NOW THEN LATER"

Erdogan remained firm in his stance before departing for Madrid. He stated that Turkey needed action and not just words to address its concerns. Erdogan also said he would push Biden for an F-16 fighter jet acquisition.

"We want results. He said that he was tired of passing the ball around midfield.

Erdogan stated that he spoke to Biden Tuesday morning in advance of the Madrid meeting. He would then explain Turkey's position at the summit and during bilateral meetings to his allies.

Biden was asked to discuss Ankara's purchase of S-400 air defense systems from Russia. This led to U.S. sanction and an offer to buy 40 F-16 jets from Washington.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkish Foreign Minister, stated that NATO should be more focused on "fighting terrorism in all forms," which is "also applicable for applicant countries".

Stoltenberg was joined by Sanchez from Spain. Sanchez said that NATO could not refuse to admit Finland because it shares a border of 1,300 km (810 miles) with Russia and Sweden.

Sanchez stated, "We are certain that, even if it is not now, it will happen later but eventually they'll join the Atlantic alliance."

Additional reporting by Tuvan Gmrukcu, Ali Kucukgocmen, and Andrea Shalal in Istanbul. John Irish in Schloss Elmau, Germany. Simon Johnson in Stockholm. Belen Carreno, Madrid. Writing by Robin Emmott. Editing by Tomasz Jaowski and Gareth Jones

Our Standards

Share this article: