• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Finland on Sunday.
• Sweden and Finland applied to join the Western defence alliance last month. Turkey has accused  of sponsoring and harbouring Kurdish militants
•  The talks with Turkey will continue, according to Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.

HELSINKI:
Turkey’s security concerns in opposing Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership applications are genuine, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who visited Finland on Sunday.

“These are all valid issues. This is about terrorism, weapons exports, and other issues “During a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at his summer villa in Naantali, Finland, Stoltenberg said.

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In reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied to join the Western defence alliance last month. Turkey, on the other hand, has accused them of sponsoring and harbouring Kurdish militants and other groups it considers terrorists.

Due to its strategic location on the Black Sea between Europe and the Middle East, Stoltenberg said Turkey was a critical ally for the alliance, citing the support it has provided to Ukraine since Russia moved soldiers into its neighbour on February 24. Moscow refers to the operations as a “special military operation.”

“We must remember and recognise that no NATO friend has been subjected to more terrorist assaults than Turkiye,” Stoltenberg added, pronouncing the country’s name in the Turkish way, as Turkey and President Tayyip Erdogan prefer.

The talks with Turkey will continue, according to Stoltenberg and Niinisto, but little progress has been made.

“There was never a deadline at the summit in Madrid,” Stoltenberg added, referring to a NATO gathering held in Madrid at the time.

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