2 hr 28 min ago
Turkey's intention "is not to block" NATO membership for Sweden and Finland, says Secretary General
From CNN's Frederik Pleitgen in Berlin
Turkey has made it clear that their intention is not to block membership, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday.
During a video news conference, he expressed confidence that NATO will be able to address Turkey's concerns and that the ascension process for Sweden and Finland into NATO is "faster than we have seen before."
On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he is not looking at Finland and Sweden joining NATO "positively," accusing both countries of housing Kurdish "terrorist organizations."
"Unfortunately, Scandinavian countries are like guesthouses of terror organizations. PKK and DHKPC have taken shelter in Sweden and Netherlands. They have even taken place in their parliaments. At this stage, it is not possible for us to see this positively." Erdogan had said.
Following this, the NATO secretary general said, "I'm confident that we will be able to address the concerns that Turkey has expressed in a way that doesn't delay the membership or the accession process, so my intention is still to have a quick and swift process," he said.
The ratification process will take time, as it is standard when going through 30 parliaments, he added, but emphasized the need to move quicker.
"This is a historic opportunity we need to seize," Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg added NATO will work with Sweden and Finland on any potential threats from Russia "to provide assurance measures is in the intermediate."