It’s still no for Sweden, but Turkey seems more conciliatory on Saturday towards Finland’s NATO membership, following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s first telephone talks with his Nordic counterparts since the start of the crisis.
Immediately following speaking to Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson, the Turkish President called on Sweden to “end its political and financial support and arms deliveries to terrorist organisations”. Erdogan said he “expects Sweden to take concrete and serious measures, showing that it shares Turkey’s concerns regarding the PKK terrorist organization and its extensions in Syria and Iraq”.
Change of tone, however, following his exchange with his Finnish counterpart, a little later in the followingnoon. According to the Turkish presidency, Erdogan simply asserted “Turkey’s natural right to expect respect and support in its legitimate fight once morest threats to its security and its people”.
For his part, on Twitter, President Niinitö affirmed that “Finland condemns terrorism in all its forms” and evoked “an open and direct telephone exchange with President Erdogan”.
Anderson, the Swedish Prime Minister, also welcomed on Twitter a first direct exchange with her Turkish counterpart. “We hope to strengthen our bilateral relations, including in terms of peace, security and the fight once morest terrorism,” she wrote.
