NATO chief urges Turkey to endorse Finland, Sweden accession

By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY and LORNE COOK
Associated Press

ISTANBUL (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is urging Turkey to set aside its reservations over Finland and Sweden joining the military alliance. He insisted on Thursday that the two Nordic countries have fulfilled their security commitments to Ankara. Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in the months after Russia invaded Ukraine, abandoning their longstanding policies of military nonalignment. Turkey has threatened to block the process unless the Nordic neighbors meet its demands to crack down on individuals the Turkish government considers terrorists. Turkey’s foreign minister says his government wants to see more concrete steps from the candidate countries. All 30 NATO member countries must ratify Finland and Sweden’s accession. Only Turkey and Hungary haven’t yet.