Turkiye To Host Talks With Sweden, Finland On NATO Bids

Turkiye said on Tuesday that it would host consultations on the NATO membership applications of Sweden and Finland.

The Turkish delegation at the meeting, set to be held on Wednesday in the capital Ankara, will be headed by presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, said a statement by the country's Foreign Ministry.

Stockholm and Helsinki will be represented by Swedish State Secretary Oscar Stenstrom and Finnish Permanent State Secretary Jukka Salovaara, along with their respective delegations, it added.

The meeting will be held at the Presidential complex at 1 p.m. local time (1100GMT), according to the presidential spokesperson's office.

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO last week -- a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.

But Turkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, has voiced objections to their membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups. -