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Finland's Foreign Minister Haavisto: The dialogue should continue
Photo: CLEMENS BILAN / EPA
Despite the negative Turkish statements: Finland and Sweden want to send delegations to Ankara on Wednesday to negotiate the NATO accession of the two northernmost EU states.
"We are sending our delegations to Ankara, both Sweden and Finland," said Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto at a discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"That will happen tomorrow so that the dialogue can continue," said the minister.
Turkey recently announced that it did not want to agree to the accession of the two countries for the time being.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also said that delegations from the two countries should not hope that the Turkish side in Ankara would be able to give in, the president said.
'Will they come to convince us?
If so, no offense, they shouldn't bother," Erdoğan said.
The background is apparently that Turkey, with its blocking stance on NATO's northern expansion, wants to force concessions, for example on arms deliveries.
Erdoğan apparently wants Sweden and Finland to take stricter action against the Kurds.
The President recently described the two countries as "guest houses for terrorist organizations".
According to this, the countries would grant protection to people with connections to the Kurdish Workers' Party PKK, which Turkey is fighting, or the movement of the preacher Fetullah Gülen.
Erdoğan blames Gülen for the failed coup in 2016.
In addition, Turkey could seek to lift the restriction on arms deliveries that some NATO members such as Germany have issued because of Turkey's actions against the Kurds in Syria.
fek/Reuters
