BRUSSELS: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has met with Finland’s prime minister and spoken to Turkey’s president as he seeks to overcome Turkish resistance to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week, tweeted late Friday that he met with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin while there and discussed “the need to address Turkey’s concerns and move forward” with the Finnish and Swedish membership applications.
Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed the Nordic countries to apply to join NATO, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Sweden and Finland of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Turkey to be terrorists.
Stoltenberg said he had a “constructive phone call” with Erdogan, calling Turkey a “valued ally” and praising Turkish efforts to broker a deal to ensure the safe transportation of grain supplies from Ukraine amid global food shortages caused by Russia’s invasion. Stoltenberg tweeted that he and Erdogan would continue their dialogue, without elaborating.
The NATO chief’s diplomatic efforts came before a gathering of senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey next week in Brussels, where NATO is based, to discuss Turkey’s opposition to the applications.
NATO chief speaks with Turkey’s Erdogan about Finland, Sweden joining
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NATO chief speaks with Turkey’s Erdogan about Finland, Sweden joining
- Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed the Nordic countries to apply to join NATO
- Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Sweden and Finland of supporting Kurdish militants
Trump says “it will be done” on getting “Russian threat” away from Greenland
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Denmark has not been able to do anything to get the “Russian threat” away from Greenland, and said, “Now it is time, and it will be done!!!“
“NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that “you have to get Russian threat away from Greenland.” Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it,” Trump wrote in a post on the social media website he owns called Truth Social.
The White House, the Danish Presidency in the European Union, and Denmark’s foreign affairs ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
Trump has repeatedly insisted he will settle for nothing less than ownership of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Leaders of both Denmark and Greenland have insisted the island is not for sale and does not want to be part of the United States.
Trump on Saturday vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland.
The encroaching presence of China and Russia makes Greenland vital to US security interests, Trump has said. Danish and other European officials have pointed out that Greenland is already covered by NATO’s collective security pact.
