The fourth meeting on a permanent joint mechanism between Türkiye, Finland and Sweden will be held in the Turkish capital Ankara on Wednesday, Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said on Monday.

Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Although Türkiye approved Finland’s membership to NATO, it is waiting for Sweden to abide by a trilateral memorandum signed last June in Madrid to address Ankara’s security concerns.

Addressing reporters in Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it is “appropriate” for all NATO members, including Türkiye, to raise security concerns they have over NATO’s enlargement as Sweden looks to join the transatlantic alliance.

“It’s a process and it’s appropriate that during that process, every member of the alliance be able to raise any concerns or issues that it might have,” Blinken said during a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart.

He acknowledged the expediency with which Sweden and Finland’s membership bids have been addressed, saying, “If you look at this historically, the process for both Finland and Sweden has been very, very rapid, and appropriately so given the fact that both countries have been long time partners of NATO, among the strongest democracies in the world, members of the European Union.”

“And of course, the challenge posed to European security by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine makes the matter even more urgent,” Blinken added.