NATO chief welcomes ‘steps taken to address Türkiye’s concerns’
ISTANBUL (AA) – The NATO chief has said that he welcomes the steps taken to address Türkiye’s concerns with regard to the PKK group.
“I welcome the serious steps already taken to address Türkiye’s concerns. Our dialogue continues, to find a united way forward,” Jens Stoltenberg said at a joint news conference following the meeting of the seven NATO allies in The Hague, Netherlands.
Sweden and Finland had formally applied to join NATO on May 18, a decision spurred by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
However, Türkiye voiced objections to their membership bids, citing the countries’ support to groups that Turkiye considers “terrorist” such as the PKK and Fetullah Gulen Movement termed ‘Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).’ Turkiye is a longstanding NATO member and the accession requires unanimous approval of all 30 NATO member states.
In late May, Türkiye hosted consultations with Swedish and Finnish delegations on their NATO applications in Ankara. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the meetings had not been “at the desired level.”
The NATO summit in Madrid at the end of this month was termed by Stoltenberg as “historic and transformative.”
“I look forward to welcoming the (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy to address NATO leaders at our summit in Madrid,” he added.
The NATO chief also underlined that the allies will agree to “a major strengthening of our posture,” which will require “more robust and combat-ready forward presence, even higher readiness, and more pre-positioned equipment and supplies.”
Stoltenberg joined the leaders of seven NATO allies to help prepare the alliance’s summit in Madrid slated for June 29-30.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen co-hosted the recent meeting which was also attended by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
