Jonathan Spicer and Orhan Coskun

ANKARA (Reuters – Turkish officials met with representatives from Sweden and Finland in Turkey this week, but they did not make any progress towards overcoming Ankara’s objections about the Nordic countries joining NATO. Two sources say that it’s unclear when more discussions will occur.

A senior Turkish official said to Reuters that “it is not an effortless process.” They must take steps to make it difficult. The negotiations are not over. A date for the agreement is still not set.

To increase their security from Russia’s invasion, Finland and Sweden applied last week for NATO membership.

The enlargement plan must be approved by all 30 NATO member countries. Turkey resisted the decision, claiming that the Nordic countries harbor terrorists and have stopped arms exports from Ankara. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated Friday that Turkey expects Sweden to stop supporting terrorist groups and take concrete steps before lifting its objections.

According to a separate source, Wednesday’s talks did not make any progress. There was no timetable for the next round of negotiations. This raises the possibility that Turkey could still object to NATO holding a summit in Madrid on June 29-30.

On Friday, the Swedish and Finnish foreign ministry did not respond to our requests for comment.

According to second source, these five-hour talks were very cordial. They included sessions with Turkish counterparts and those from the Nordic countries. Then, there was three-way discussion with all the parties.

Reuters received information from a third source that said Turkish officials were reducing the chances of reaching an accord before Madrid.