Finland open to discussing Turkiye’s concerns over Nato bid

The Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, said his country was open to discussing Turkiye’s concerns over its application to join Nato, Report informs referring to CNN.

Finland was ready to commit to Ankara’s security, Niinistö said at a joint news conference with the US president, Joe Biden, and Sweden’s prime minister, Magdalena Andersson.

“Finland has always had broad and good bilateral relations with Turkiye. As Nato allies, we will commit to Turkiye’s security, just as Turkiye will commit to our security. We take terrorism seriously. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and we are actively engaged in combating it. We are open to discussing all the concerns Turkiye may have concerning our membership in an open and productive manner,” he said.

Niinistö added that Finland’s decision to seek Nato membership was made with “an overwhelming parliamentary majority and huge, strong popular support”.

Finland will be a strong Nato ally, he said, adding that the Finnish armed forces “are one of the strongest in Europe.”