Cavusoglu: Ankara's position on NATO expansion clear

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that Türkiye's position on NATO expansion is clear and that it is not fundamentally opposed to the expansion of the NATO bloc.

He made the remarks at a joint press conference with Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho in Ankara on January 30, Anadolu reports.

"Ankara's position on the new NATO members is clear. We have those categorical problems neither in relations with Finland nor with Sweden. Türkiye is aware of the security challenges faced by these two countries and expects a similar approach to its address," Cavusoglu stressed.

From the very beginning of the process of considering applications for Finland and Sweden to join NATO, Ankara had fewer problems in dialogue with Helsinki than with Stockholm.

Cavusoglu commented on the statements of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who did not rule out separate consideration by Ankara of the applications of the two Scandinavian countries to NATO.

"The latest statements of the Turkish leader only confirm the position of Türkiye indicated initially. We have stated before that there are fewer problems in relations with Finland. Therefore, I think it would be fair to make a difference between a state with which you have big problems and a country with fewer contradictions," Cavusoglu said.

According to him, despite Ankara's approach, NATO advocated simultaneous consideration of applications, which resulted in a Trilateral memorandum signed by Türkiye, Finland and Sweden on the sidelines of the last NATO summit in Madrid. "After signing the document, Finland has taken a number of steps. At the same time, the Scandinavian country did not have provocations similar to those recorded in neighbouring Sweden. Although there are also many forces in Finland opposed to joining the Alliance," Cavusoglu said.