Ankara,Turkey – Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan discussed, in a phone call on Wednesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, expansion of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Black Sea Grain Initiative agreement.
They also discussed cooperation in combating the threat posed by synthetic drugs, in addition to the international meeting US will host on Jul. 7 in this regard.
Earlier last month, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called on Ankara to drop its opposition to Sweden’s bid to join the defense alliance, saying Stockholm has addressed Turkey’s security concerns.
NATO member Turkey has dragged its feet over admitting Sweden to the military alliance. It and Hungary are the only two member countries yet to ratify the membership bid.
Finland formally joined the alliance in April.
Erdogan has accused Sweden of being a haven for “terrorists”, especially members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group blacklisted by Turkey and its Western allies.
Hungary has said it will back Sweden’s NATO entry once Turkey gives its assent.
As for Black Sea grain deal, Russia on Tuesday restated a demand for its state agricultural bank to be reconnected to the global SWIFT payments system to avert the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal, and said it would not accept a reported compromise proposal.
With 11 days remaining until the expiry of the deal, which has allowed Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports despite Russia’s invasion, Moscow said there had been no progress on any of its key demands, including the banking issue.
The stakes are high for the world. The United Nations says the deal has so far allowed the export of more than 32 million metric tons of food from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports to 45 countries on three continents.
It describes the Black Sea grain deal and the efforts to facilitate Russian grain and fertiliser exports as “a lifeline for global food security”.