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Finland willing to continue talks with Turkey on unresolved issues — foreign minister

We had good negotiations there, long negotiations, agreed to continue those talks, and of course we rely on NATO’s open door policy, which is also supported by Turkey, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said

WASHINGTON, May 28. /TASS/. Finland is poised to continue negotiations with Turkey on any unsettled issue related to joining NATO, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Department of State on Friday.

"We agreed to continue those talks (on Finland and Sweden joining NATO - TASS)," Haavisto said. "We think that these problems can be solved that Turkey has been raising. We hope that some results could be achieved before the NATO summit."

"We had good negotiations there, long negotiations, agreed to continue those talks, and of course we rely on NATO’s open door policy, which is also supported by Turkey. And we think that these problems can be solved," he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on May 18 that Ankara would not support the admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO until they made a decision on their attitude to terrorist organizations, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (KWP), which Turkey regards as terrorist. He made a similar statement on May 16, adding that he was against admitting Finland and Sweden to NATO due to these countries’ refusal to extradite accomplices in KWP’s activity to Turkey. However, on May 21 Erdogan specified that Turkey would support those countries’ accession to NATO if they clearly demonstrate solidarity with Ankara in security concerns.

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