NATO chief Stoltenberg calls concerns raised by Türkiye "legitimate"

NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday that the concerns that are raised by Türkiye are legitimate.

Stoltenberg, visiting Finland's President Sauli Niinisto, said it was important to note that no other NATO ally had suffered more terrorist attacks than Türkiye, and that therefore its concerns needed to be taken seriously.

He also added that the Madrid Summit was never a deadline for approving Finnish and Swedish NATO applications.

"These are legitimate concerns. This is about terrorism, it's about weapons exports," Stoltenberg told a joint news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto while visiting him at his summer residence in Naantali, Finland.

Sweden and Finland applied to join the Western defence alliance last month, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But they have faced opposition from Türkiye, which has accused them of supporting and harbouring the PKK terrorists.

Stoltenberg said Türkiye was a key ally for the alliance due to its strategic location on the Black Sea between Europe and the Middle East, and cited the support it has provided to Ukraine since Russia sent troops into its neighbour on Feb. 24. Moscow calls its actions a "special military operation".

"We have to remember and understand that no NATO ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Türkiye," Stoltenberg said, using the Turkish pronunciation of the country's name, as preferred by the country and its President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Stoltenberg and Niinisto said talks with Türkiye would continue but gave no indication of progress in the negotiations.

"The summit in Madrid was never a deadline," Stoltenberg said, referring to a NATO meeting in Madrid at the end of June.