MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th March, 2023) A trilateral meeting of the delegations from Turkey, Sweden, and Finland about NATO membership will be held in Brussels.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022, several months after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. Their membership bids were initially blocked by Turkey, which accused Stockholm and Helsinki of supporting "terrorists," referring to supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. Turkey lifted its objections after the three leaders met in Madrid in June 2022 where they signed a security memorandum, which unblocked the process of accession of the two Nordic countries to the alliance.
However, the accession process came once more to a standstill in January 2023 following Quran-burning incident in Sweden, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that Stockholm should not count on Ankara's support for its NATO bid. Turkey also discussed with other NATO members the possibility of approving Finland's application separately. The talks with Sweden have also resumed recently.
