NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that the organization's member Turkey is an important ally and contributes greatly to the common security of the alliance countries.
Stoltenberg added at a joint press conference held in Istanbul on Thursday, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, that they discussed the situation in the Aegean Sea, the fight against terrorism, Finland's and Sweden's membership in NATO, and the support to be provided to Ukraine.
The Secretary-General of NATO praised Turkey's role in what he described as NATO's fight against terrorism in Iraq, and its contribution to NATO's naval and air defense.
Stoltenberg also thanked Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for protecting the Ukrainian grain export agreement, and said that Kyiv was developing its defense thanks to the support provided by Turkey.
Finland and Sweden
The Secretary-General of NATO considered that Finland and Sweden abide by their commitments in the agreements with Turkey on combating terrorism.
However, the Turkish Foreign Minister said during the press conference that Finland and Sweden have not yet fulfilled all their obligations under an agreement with Turkey to agree to its request to join NATO, asking them to take quick steps in this regard.
And last June, Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding with Sweden and Finland paving the way for the two northern European countries to join the alliance.
Turkey says Sweden and Finland harbor individuals linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a coup attempt on July 15, 2016. It submitted 28 requests to Sweden and 12 requests to Finland for extradition.
The two countries asked to join NATO in response to Russia's war on Ukraine since February 24, but Ankara sought additional guarantees, including that the two countries would not harbor Kurdish militants.