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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said today that talks with Sweden and Finland on their NATO membership will resume on March 9 after a delay in January due to a Koran-burning protest, Reuters reported.

Speaking in Ankara, Çavuşoğlu said that the meeting will take place in Brussels and will discuss the implementation of the memorandum signed with the two Scandinavian countries. 

Çavuşoğlu reiterated today that it is impossible for Turkey to approve Sweden's candidacy without seeing that concrete steps are taken, Anadolu Agency reported.

Regarding the membership of Finland and Sweden, Turkey's position is clear and transparent, Cavusoglu said at a press conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó, who arrived in Ankara in solidarity after the February 6 earthquakes in Turkey.

Recalling that terrorism is one of the two main threats to NATO, Çavuşoğlu said he expects the two northern countries to respond to Ankara's concerns regarding the fight against terrorism. 

Sweden renews talks with Turkey on NATO membership

Since a tripartite memorandum was signed at the NATO summit in Madrid in June 2022, no satisfactory steps have been taken by Sweden, Çavuşoğlu said.

It is not possible to say "yes" to Sweden's membership in NATO without taking these steps, the Turkish foreign minister said.

He also said that the two countries' NATO membership applications may be considered separately because Turkey is more positive about Finland's accession process, Anadolu Agency reported.  

NATO membership

Mevlut Cavusoglu

Finland and Sweden