Ongoing talks with Turkey give hope

Discussions between representatives of the three countries and the defense alliance began after lunch on Monday and continued until just 6 pm.

A positive sign with caution – or at least not the other way around.

Without going into the substance of the negotiations, Foreign Secretary Anne Lind (S) then said they were complicated.

– But we note that there have been constructive talks and that the talks will continue, and this is the most important thing.

Trinidad and Tobago: Is it possible to explain that Turkey is now negotiating without warning?

– The starting point is still that Turkey has issues related to its security.

– Now it is important for everyone to respect each other and it is in this spirit that negotiations take place.

five hours

Trinidad and Tobago: Has the tone of the conversations changed and become softer?

– I don’t want to go into such things. In addition, you should always be prepared in complex negotiations that can take a long time. Negotiations have been difficult but constructive and are continuing. But that doesn’t say anything about the temporal aspects or how things will go after that, says Ann Lindy.

Sweden and Finland have previously emphasized that no one expects any quick fixes.

– While everyone acknowledges that Turkey has security concerns that we take very seriously, Sweden, Finland and NATO also have a stake in those negotiations that don’t last very long, even if it is not at all a deadline for the summit in Madrid (28-30 June), As the Minister of Foreign Affairs says.

What does Erdogan say?

The head of the Finnish delegation, Petri Hakarinen, stated that the discussion lasted about five hours.

“Clear progress has been made on some issues, while we still have to agree on others. Today’s results will be reviewed in the capitals. The common goal is to continue the discussion as soon as possible,” Hakarinen said in a statement. In Finnish Presidency of the Republic website.

– Since you have sat for a long time and are ready to continue the talks, I still think there is a successful process now, Paul Levin, director of the Institute for Turkey Studies at Stockholm University, tells TT

Of course, it remains to be seen how President Erdogan will react. You don’t know, he might put a wet blanket on top of everything. But I think these first signs are positive, even if the tough questions remain unresolved.

Beyond Madrid

NATO announced that Monday’s meeting would be followed by more “over the next few days”.

“I welcome the constructive meeting held today on the historic applications of Finland and Sweden to join NATO,” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement on the NATO website.

Representative of the Turkish meeting Ibrahim Kalin – Senior Adviser and Spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – confirmed that the Madrid Summit does not set a timetable for the talks.

Jens Stoltenberg also emphasizes that the NATO summit should not be considered a target date for when a settlement can be reached.