Finnish delegation visits Turkey to negotiate NATO bid

Delegates from the Finnish Ministry of Justice met with Turkish officials on Tuesday to negotiate Finland's accession to NATO for six hours, Turkey’s state news TV TRT said. 

The meeting was held for technical talks on Turkey’s extradition request of certain individuals that Turkey deems as terrorists, as per an agreement signed by Turkey, Sweden and Finland to lift Turkey’s objection to the nordic countries NATO bid. 

The countries' accession to the alliance requires the ratification of all 30 of NATO's member states. At the moment, all countries have ratified it except Hungary and Turkey. Hungary is expected to pass the approval from its parliament in December.

 Turkey asked Finland last month to re-examine six extradition requests that had already been rejected during the summer, but Finnish authorities said they had no intention of reopening the files as the decisions were considered to be final, Finnish Yle TV1  said. 

Risto E.J. Penttilä, a security policy expert at the Nordic West Office consulting firm, told Yle TV1 breakfast show on Tuesday that the negotiations may bear fruit, but suggested that the US would play a decisive role in the talks.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag on Monday said Finland and Sweden have to keep their promises to extradite terrorists if they want to join NATO.

"If they want to join NATO right now, they have to keep their word. Our statements are very clear: 'Fulfill your promises, and we will complete your NATO entry process,'" he said