Joe Biden has no plans on talks with Erdogan over Finland & Sweden's NATO bid: Sullivan

United States of America National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said that President Joe Biden has no plans to engage with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over Finland and Sweden's NATO bid "at the moment." Speaking at a press briefing, Sullivan asserted that Washington is willing to make efforts to resolve the issues. He stated the US believes that the concerns of Turkey regarding Sweden and Finland's NATO membership bid can be addressed and resolved.

"Not at the moment, but the President made it clear that the United States is prepared to do whatever we’re asked to do to be supportive in resolving these issues. And if that were requested of him, he would, of course, be happy to do it," Jake Sullivan said at the press briefing. 

Speaking at the press briefing, Sullivan said that US President Joe Biden met with Finland counterpart Sauli Niinisto and Sweden Prime Minister Magladena Andersson and both of them indicated that they would speak directly to Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to Sullivan, the leaders of Finland and Sweden indicated that their teams will speak to senior Turkish officials. Jake Sullivan said that they will work "very closely" with Finland and Sweden to deter any aggression against them. 

US President Biden meets Finnish counterpart & Swedish PM 

US President Joe Biden on Thursday, May 19 met Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson at the White House after the two Nordic nations submitted their membership to NATO. During the meeting, Biden highlighted the commitment of the US to support Finland and Sweden as they seek membership in NATO. The three leaders also discussed the ongoing cooperation on shared global challenges and commitment to supporting Ukraine. Speaking at the White House in a trilateral press conference with Swedish and Finnish leaders, Biden emphasised that they held “a good discussion” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the “strengthening of transatlantic security." Biden said that Sweden and Finland will "make NATO stronger."

Turkey plans to block Sweden & Finland's NATO bid if security concerns ignored

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that his country intends to block Sweden and Finland's application to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) if Ankara's security concerns are not addressed, Sputnik reported. Speaking to students at the presidential library in Ankara on May 19, the Turkish President stated that "NATO is a security organization" and they cannot accept "presence of terrorist organizations in it." He accused Sweden and Finland of helping terrorists with financial and arms assistance, as per the Sputnik report. He pointed out the presence of the PKK and the YPG and militia groups in the Nordic nations, which Turkey considers as "terrorist organisations."