Finland Does Not Expect to Join NATO before September

Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said his country failed to break through talks with Turkey, and may not be able to join NATO before next September.

This statement came during a joint press conference held by Niinisto in Helsinki with Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament.

Commenting on the results of the meeting that Finland and Sweden held with Turkey at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday, the Finnish president said, "In terms of the substance of the meeting there has been little progress, but we are pleased with the fact that the discussion has begun."

He added that Finland would most likely not be able to join NATO until September.

Previously, sources in the German government questioned the "rapid accession" of Finland and Sweden to NATO, at the alliance summit scheduled to be held in Madrid on June 29-30, but stressed at the same time that "there are no insurmountable difficulties" between the two Nordic states and Turkey.

Erdogan has already blocked an early attempt by NATO to speed up Finland and Sweden's applications, saying their membership would make the alliance "a place where representatives of terrorist organizations are concentrated."

The clash prompted Western diplomats to put Turkey on their side, with Ankara submitting a list of complaints to NATO ambassadors about its issues with the Nordic countries - and Sweden in particular.