US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu are meeting in Ankara [Cagla Gurdogan/Reuters]
Reuters: Blinken, in Turkey, urges speedy Nordics accession to NATO
ANKARA (Reuters) -Washington strongly supports Sweden and Finland's quick NATO accession given steps they have already taken, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, even as his Turkish counterpart stressed the need for more concrete action.
Sweden and Finland applied last year to join the trans-Atlantic defence pact after Russia invaded Ukraine, but faced unexpected objections from Turkey.
Ankara says Stockholm has harboured what Ankara calls members of terrorist groups. Turkey recently indicated it would approve only Finland for NATO membership.
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Update #1: US urges Turkey to green-light Sweden and Finland’s NATO applications -- France 24
Update #2: Blinken urges Nordics’ accession to NATO in Turkey visit -- Al Jazeera
WNU Editor: Turkey has responded .... Turkey rejects links between NATO expansion, F-16 deal (AP).