Türkiye to continue talks with Finland, Sweden on NATO bids

Talks on Finland and Sweden's NATO membership bids will continue, and the forthcoming summit in Madrid is not an endpoint, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said.

"As we have said before, the NATO summit (in Madrid) is not an endpoint for us, so those negotiations will continue. That's what we told our interlocutors from Finland and Sweden," Kalin told a news conference in Brussels following NATO-hosted talks with Finland and Sweden.

He said Türkiye expects Sweden to take concrete steps against the PKK terror group, acknowledging statements by Swedish authorities in this regard.

Ankara called on Stockholm and Helsinki to prevent the terror group from collecting funds, recruiting new members, and ensuring that it ends its activities and propaganda against Türkiye, Kalin added.

The spokesman also voiced Ankara's expectations regarding the lifting of a direct or indirect arms embargo imposed on Türkiye.

Kalin and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal traveled to Brussels on Sunday for talks on Finland and Sweden's NATO membership applications.

The NATO leaders summit will be held on June 29-30 in Madrid.