Finnish President To Pay Visit To Turkey On Thursday At Erdogan's Invitation - Ankara

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th March, 2023) Finnish President Sauli Niinisto will arrive in Turkey on a two-day visit on Thursday at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid the ongoing negotiations on Finland's accession to NATO, the Turkish presidential office said on Wednesday.

"President Sauli Niinistö of Finland will pay a working visit to Türkiye on March 16-17, 2023 at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan," the office said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Niinisto's office confirmed the visit, saying the Finnish president will visit the earthquake-hit area in southeastern Turkey upon arrival.

"In addition to the reconstruction after the earthquake, the discussions will focus on the geopolitical situation, bilateral relations between Finland and Türkiye and Finland's and Sweden's NATO memberships," Niinisto's office said in a statement.

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 this year following the Quran-burning incident in Sweden, with 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.