Finnish Defense Minister arrives in Ankara

The Minister of National Defense, Hulusi Akar, will meet with the Minister of Defense of Finland, Antti Kaikkonen. Akar will meet Kaikkonen, who is paying an official visit to Turkey, at the Ministry of National Defense on Thursday.

The meeting is expected to discuss bilateral defense and security issues, as well as Finland’s NATO membership process.

Commenting on Finland’s NATO membership to members of the press, Akar stated that Turkey has no problem with NATO’s open-door policy, but that Turkey’s sensitivities should be respected.

Noting that NATO is a security organization, Akar said: “Terrorism is one of NATO’s biggest areas of struggle. Terrorism is a serious problem for all countries at this time. Turkey is the only country fighting against more than one terrorist organization. This needs to be seen and awareness of what we are doing on this issue needs to be raised.”

Recalling that there was a tripartite memorandum on the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland during the Madrid Summit in June, Akar said:

“My memo is open. There are commitments signed by Sweden and Finland. We say that they must be fulfilled. We draw attention to the fact that this memorandum is a beginning, not an end. Once these have been carried out, Parliament will make its decision. We are also trying to help Sweden and Finland. We are also closely monitoring the situation in Sweden and Finland. Unfortunately, we still see some provocative actions and images continue in these countries. We hope that both Sweden and Finland will take concrete measures.” (AA)