Finland's president said yesterday he was confident he could convince Turkey to accept its Nato application bid “with the help of constructive discussions”.
Sauli Niinisto was speaking after Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan initially poured cold water on Finland and Sweden's “historic” announcements to join the military alliance, claiming Ankara would not approve their bids.
“Statements from Turkey have very quickly changed and become harder during the last few days,” President Niinisto said during an address to Sweden's parliament. “But I am sure that, with the help of constructive discussions, we will solve the situation."
He added: “I am optimistic."
Turkey surprised many Nato allies on Monday by saying it would not support membership for Sweden and Finland after the two countries took the widely anticipated step of agreeing to apply to join the US-led alliance this week.
This story is from the May 18, 2022 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the May 18, 2022 edition of The Independent.
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