Turkish Foreign Minister and Finnish Foreign Minister Discuss NATO’s Eastward Expansion and Other Issues on the Phone
CCTV News Client News On November 24, local time, Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu had a telephone conversation with Finnish Foreign Minister Haavisto. According to a statement issued by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two sides discussed issues such as NATO’s eastward expansion, recent developments in Ukraine, and the agreement on the export of agricultural products from Black Sea ports. Cavusoglu also stressed that the Turkish side will firmly continue to fight terrorism within the framework of the “Sword” operation.
Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in May this year, but were opposed by NATO member Turkey. Turkey criticized the two countries for conniving and even supporting the PKK, the Syrian Kurdish armed “People’s Protection Units” and the “Gulen Movement”, which are considered terrorist organizations by Turkey. After several rounds of negotiations, the three countries signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding at the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June, saying they would strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation. At present, only the Turkish and Hungarian parliaments have yet to ratify the protocol for the two countries to join NATO. (Headquarters reporter Chen Huihui)