EU Defence Build-Up Too Slow for 2030 Russia Readiness Goal 
Trump Asks Supreme Court to Restore Third-Country Deportations 
Pezeshkian Says US Must Choose When Iran War Ends 
Abbas Reaffirms November 28 Palestinian Elections 
Ghana Says Western Support Growing for Slave Trade Reparations 
Netanyahu Defends Israel at UN as Delegates Stage Walkout 
Sudan Rejects US Legitimacy Remarks, Defends Sovereignty 
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Plan Urgent Defence Talks Over Houthi Attacks 
Judge Orders Trump to Restore White House Access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico 
Trump, Xi Visit US National Archives After White House Summit 
Ukrainian Drone Attacks Hit Russian Regions, Injuring at Least 12 
Russian Missile and Drone Attack on Kyiv Kills Two, Damages Maternity Hospital 
Taiwan Thanks US for Support Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit 
What ‘Taiwan Independence’ Means as Xi Presses Trump on US Policy 
South Korea, US Discuss Warship Building Cooperation 
Yemen Violence Displaces 130,000 as Civilian Toll Rises 
Kremlin Says No Decision Yet on Putin-Trump December Summit 
Add as a preferred source on Google
Turkey cancelled an upcoming trilateral mechanism meeting with Sweden and Finland in response to the weekend protest that took place in Stockholm that angered Ankara. The meeting comes as both Sweden and Finland are seeking Turkey’s approval to be able to join the NATO alliance.
Turkish state television TRT said on Tuesday that Ankara had postponed the upcoming trilateral meeting in February with Sweden and Finland in Brussels, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg was also expected to attend the upcoming meeting.
This comes as Erdogan said on Monday that Sweden and Finland should not expect Ankara’s approval of their joint application to be part of the alliance. Erdogan’s comments were in response to the protests in Stockholm over the weekend near the Turkish embassy that included burning a copy of the Koran.
Sweden and Finland filed a joint application to join the NATO alliance last year as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two countries need unanimous approval in order to join the alliance, but Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have yet to ratify their application for accession.
Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto said on Tuesday that a few weeks’ pauses in the trilateral talks with Sweden and Turkey for NATO were needed. Haavisto also said that it seems unlikely that Ankara would approve of Sweden and Finland’s applications until after Turkey holds its elections in mid-May.
Speaking at a news conference, Haavisto said the next window of opportunity to gain Turkey’s approval would be at the annual NATO summit on July 11-12. Haavisto said he spoke with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavosoglu, noting that Ankara is feeling pressure due to the upcoming elections.
Haavisto’s Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson told reporters that Stockholm has called for calm and restraint following the protests and hoped to restore dialogue with Ankara as soon as possible. Kristersson reiterated the importance of joining NATO and that there was no contradiction between exercising freedom of speech in Sweden and advancing in the process of joining the military alliance.
