Nato chief speaks with Erdogan about Finland, Sweden joining

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has met with Finland’s prime miner and spoken to Turkey’s president as he seeks to overcome Turkish resance to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week, tweeted late Friday that he met with Finnish Prime Miner Sanna Marin while there and discussed “the need to address Turkey’s concerns and move forward” with the Finnish and Swedish membership applications.

Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed the Nordic countries to apply to join Nato, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Sweden and Finland of supporting Kurdish militants deemed Turkey to be terrors.
Stoltenberg said he had a “constructive phone call” with Erdogan, calling Turkey a “valued ally” and praising Turkish efforts to broker a deal to ensure the safe transportation of grain supplies from Ukraine amid global food shortages caused Russia’s invasion. Stoltenberg tweeted that he and Erdogan would continue their dialogue, without elaborating.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
The Nato chief’s diplomatic efforts came before a gathering of senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey next week in Brussels, where Nato is based, to discuss Turkey’s opposition to the applications.