As NATO member, Finland to commit to Turkey's security - president

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Thursday said Finland was open to discussing Turkey's concerns over its accession application to NATO, adding that the country was ready to commit to Ankara's security.

Speaking at the White House, where President Joe Biden is hosting the leaders of Finland and Sweden after the formal submission of their NATO application, Biden said his administration was submitting to Congress on Thursday reports on the two countries' NATO accession.

"We are open to discussing all the concerns that you may have concerning our membership in an open and constructive manner," Niinisto said, addressing Turkey -- which has accused the Nordic nations of harboring terror groups including bloody-minded PKK militants.

Turkey, a longstanding NATO member, has voiced objections to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, criticizing them for tolerating and even supporting terror groups, including the PKK/YPG.

The Turkish government maintains that in the last five years, Helsinki and Stockholm have failed to agree to Ankara's requests for the extradition of dozens of terrorists, including members of the PKK and FETO, the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkiye.

Andersson said her government is "right now having a dialogue with all NATO member countries, including Turkey, on different levels to sort out any issues at hand."

Senior representatives from Finland and Sweden are set to visit Ankara in the coming days to discuss their accession process, which requires unanimous approval from all 30 NATO member states.