ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday it was “meaningless” to hold a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland to discuss their NATO bids after protests this month in Stockholm. Speaking at a news conference, Cavusoglu also said there is no offer to evaluate Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership seperately. Swedish … Read more
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish and Finnish hopes of quickly joining NATO have run into an obstacle in the form of objections by Turkey, which holds veto powers over accession to the military alliance. The three nations reached an agreement on how to proceed in Madrid last June, but Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said Sweden, … Read more
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland’s foreign minister on Tuesday told Reuters a timeout of a few weeks is needed in the talks between Finland, Sweden and Turkey regarding the two Nordic nations’ plans to join the NATO military alliance. “A timeout is needed before we return to the three-way talks and see where we are when … Read more
ANKARA (Reuters) – Sweden should not expect Turkey’s support for its NATO membership after a protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm at the weekend including the burning of a copy of the Koran, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. “Those who allow such blasphemy in front of our embassy (in Stockholm) can no longer … Read more
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland announced on Friday a new donation of more than 400 million euros ($434 million) worth of defence equipment for Ukraine, not including Leopard 2 heavy tanks which it said it could also send if there is an agreement with allies. The new donation would triple the total value of Finland’s defence … Read more