We Will Continue Our 'Telephone Diplomacy': Erdogan

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he has phone conversations scheduled with the Finnish government regarding the country's NATO membership, as reported by RIA Novosti.

“Today I had discussions with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, and tomorrow there will be discussions with the United Kingdom and Finland,” Erdogan told reporters.

According to Erdogan, negotiations are also planned to be held soon with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “We will continue our ‘telephone diplomacy’ with NATO members, but the stance on Sweden and Finland’s membership is clear,” the Turkish leader said.

Finland and Sweden previously provided their applications to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to join the alliance. Turkey announced later that it cannot say “yes” to NATO regarding these countries due to their approaches on the Kurdish issue. President Joe Biden does not plan to cooperate with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan at this stage, given Ankara’s concerns about NATO expansion, said Jake Sullivan, the U.S. President's national security advisor.