Turkey to host talks on Finnish NATO bid
Finnish officials are to arrive in Ankara on Tuesday to discuss their country's bid to join NATO, according to Turkey's state-run news agency.
A delegation from Finland's Justice Ministry will meet Kasim Cicek, the head of foreign relations at the Turkish Ministry of Justice, the Anadolu Agency said.
The talks will focus on the extradition of individuals Turkey regards as terrorists, the report added.
Finland's president and government announced their membership intentions earlier this year, paving the way for the 30-member Western military alliance to expand amid Russia's war in Ukraine.
Sweden decided to follow Finland and apply for membership, ending more than 200 years of military non-alignment.
Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, has previously been a neutral country.
Becoming a NATO member requires the unanimous support of all current members, including Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that he had also agreed to meet with Sweden's new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, in Ankara.
Turkey has threatened to block the process unless Finland and Sweden meet its demands.
Watch: NATO goes ahead with planned nuclear test despite Russia tensions.
In particular, Ankara wants them to crack down on people it considers terrorists, such as supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and members of a group said to have orchestrated a failed coup in 2016.
Turkey has also called for the lifting of an arms embargo imposed following its 2018 incursion into northern Syria to combat Kurdish militants.
Sweden last month said it would lift the embargo, a step seen as aiming to secure Ankara's approval.
Only the parliaments of Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify the accession of Finland and Sweden.
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