Finland casts doubt on NATO entry by September over lack of progress with Turkey
On Monday, Sweden, Finland and Turkey held talks in the NATO headquarters in Brussels
BRUSSELS, June 21. /TASS/. Talks with Turkey have not yet yielded "that much progress", and Finland may not join NATO by September, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Tuesday.
"In substance itself there was not that much progress, but, surely, we have to be satisfied that the discussion is now open," he told a news conference following a meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. "I wouldn’t like to give exact dates, but it is possible that we are not going to do it by September."
"That was a progress to have a possibility of meeting together that took quite a lot of time [to organize]. But nevertheless the negotiations are now open, and they have also agreed that they will continue," Niinisto said.
Sweden, Finland and Turkey held talks in the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday to discuss the Nordic countries’ membership bids and Turkey’s security concerns. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the talks were "constructive", while Turkey had "legitimate" concerns over terrorism.