Finland says Turkey unlikely to lift veto on Nato accession before summit

Helsinki, Jun 21 (EFE).- Finnish president Sauli Niinisto on Tuesday said it might be “quite difficult” to reach an agreement with Turkey on lifting its veto on Finland and Sweden’s bids to join Nato before the upcoming summit of the defense alliance.

During a press conference, Niinisto acknowledged that the talks held between both Nordic countries and Turkey in Brussels on Monday failed to yield a breakthrough on the issue.

But he stressed that the trilateral meeting itself, the second in almost a month, was clear progress.

“It can be quite difficult to reach agreements, but nevertheless, I have the impression that serious discussions are taking place and, hopefully, we will finally achieve a positive result,” Niinisto said in a joint press conference with the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

Turkey is currently the only Nato member vetoing Finland and Sweden’s entry, as it accused both countries of backing terrorism and harboring Kurdish militants wanted by Ankara on terror charges.

Although it is not yet official, local media reported that Niinisto will lead the Finnish delegation at the Nato summit in Madrid between June 29 and 30, and that he will be accompanied by foreign minister Pekka Haavisto and defense minister Antti Kaikkonen.EFE

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