Finnish Delegation to Visit Turkey for NATO Membership Talks Next Week, Reports Say

ANKARA (Sputnik) - A delegation of the Finnish justice ministry will visit Ankara on October 25 to discuss issues hindering the ratification procedure for obtaining NATO membership by Helsinki, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday.

On May 18, three months after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden submitted NATO membership applications, abandoning decades of neutrality. Their accession papers have been ratified by all NATO members except Turkey and Hungary.

Turkey and Finland are expected to discuss the extradition of persons affiliated with groups which Ankara considers terrorist, including the organization of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen (FETO) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

The Turkish side will be represented at the talks by the chief for foreign and EU affairs at its justice ministry, Kasim Cicek, who will present members of the Finnish delegation with evidence that people whose extradition Ankara seeks are involved in terrorist activities, the report said.

Turkey had a similar negotiation on extraditions with Sweden in early October.

Turkey has blocked the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, citing their tolerance of "terrorists." On June 29, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a security memorandum, which Ankara said addressed all of its concerns.