Turkey has “legitimate concerns” over terrorism and other issues that need to be taken seriously, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday.
Ankara has said it will not back Finland and Sweden joining Nato unless it changes its policies of supporting Kurdish militants.
Mr Stoltenberg said alongside Finnish President Sauli Niinisto that “no other Nato ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey” and pointed to its location, alongside neighbours including Iraq and Syria.
“These are legitimate concerns," he said. "This is about terrorism, it’s about weapons exports.
“We have to address the security concerns of all allies, including Turkish concerns about the terrorist group PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party].”
He spoke at Finland’s presidential summer residence Kultaranta in western Finland.
Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed Finland and Sweden to apply to join Nato in May after decades of military non-alignment.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses the Nordic nations of supporting Kurdish militants deemed by Turkey to be terrorists and has vetoed their entry into the 30-member alliance.
A look at the Nato military alliance - in pictures
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A solemn welcoming ceremony of US soldiers at Adazi military base, Latvia, on February 25, 2022. More than 300 soldiers of the 173rd Air Force Brigade arrived to demonstrate the US commitment to defend Nato allies and strengthen Latvia's defence capabilities following Russia's military operation in Ukraine. EPA -
US paratroopers in Ukraine's western Lviv region during a Nato-sponsored training exercise in 2020. AP -
A US military aircraft takes off at the US Air Base Ramstein, in Landstuhl, Germany, on February 25. US President Joe Biden February 24 authorised the deployment of further armed forces to Germany as part of Nato's response to Russia's military aggression on Ukraine. EPA -
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on February 25. EPA -
A convoy of British armoured vehicles of the Royal Welsh Battlegroup on the way to Estonia, driving through Liepupe, Latvia, on February 25. British troops and equipment are heading to Estonia as part of the UK's contribution to strengthen Nato's uplift to Eastern Europe. EPA -
Protesters outside a Nato leaders virtual summit in Brussels on February 25. AP -
A US Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron receives fuel from a KC-10 Extender aircraft over Poland on February 24. US Air Force/Reuters -
US military personnel check an Apache attack helicopter AH-64 during a technical stop on the tarmac at Traian Vuia International Airport in Timisoara, Romania, on February 24. EPA -
German soldiers of the Nato enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania attend a ceremony during a visit of German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to Rukla Military Base, Lithuania, on February 22. EPA
“When a vital key ally such as Turkey raises concerns on terrorism, then of course we have to sit down and take them seriously. And that’s exactly what we do,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
The demands from Ankara to Helsinki and Stockholm also include lifting restrictions on arms exports to Turkey and extraditing members of certain Kurdish organisations that are opposed to Mr Erdogan’s government.
Finland and Sweden submit applications for Nato membership - video
In the past weeks, Nato’s chief has been trying to resolve the dispute but he did not disclose on Sunday whether any progress had been made.
Mr Stoltenberg was to attend an annual discussion panel in Kultaranta, Finland, later on Sunday with Finnish and Nordic politicians, foreign and security policy experts and military representatives.
He will visit Sweden on Monday for talks with the Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
