Biden Talks Sweden Finland NATO with Turkey’s Erdogan

President Biden spoke with his Turkish counterpart on Tuesday ahead of this week’s NATO summit, as the Middle East government is firmly opposed to Finland and Sweden joining the Atlantic Alliance.

Biden and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone, the White House said, adding Biden looks forward to seeing his Turkish counterpart during the Madrid summit – where US and European officials are hoping for a “boost” for the Stockholm-Helsinki candidacy .

“I’m not sitting here today proposing that all of Madrid’s problems are resolved, but we will try to resolve as many of them as possible so that Madrid can give a boost to its candidatures, even if there are still some concerns on the part of Turkey that needs to be worked out,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the G7 summit in Bavaria, Germany.

Following the formal application to join NATO in May, the Nordic nations need the unanimous support of all 30 current members to be admitted as members.

Turkey remains firmly opposed to NATO expansion, accusing Finland and Sweden of taking a lax stance on “terrorists,” referring to Kurdish activists.

Erdoğan remained steadfast on Tuesday, saying he would “do whatever is necessary for the rights and interests of our country.”

He was due to meet Finnish and Swedish leaders on the same day, although Turkey’s presidential office warned on Monday that the meeting “doesn’t mean we’re going to step back from our position,” according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, Erdoğan has hinted that he will produce documents on Kurdish “terrorist groups” to show what he called the “hypocrisy” of both nations. Turkey wants Sweden and Finland to extradite wanted people and lift gun restrictions.

“We will tell them clearly that it is not possible to expect a different attitude from Turkey unless this picture changes,” the president said after a cabinet meeting.

With postal wires