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Turkey’s Erdogan Talks to Swedish, Finnish Leaders on NATO

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan holds a news conference during the NATO summit at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2021. (Reuters)
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan holds a news conference during the NATO summit at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2021. (Reuters)
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Turkey’s Erdogan Talks to Swedish, Finnish Leaders on NATO

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan holds a news conference during the NATO summit at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2021. (Reuters)
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan holds a news conference during the NATO summit at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2021. (Reuters)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday discussed his objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO with the two Nordic countries’ leaders, Erdogan’s office said.

He spoke to Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson in separate calls to address Ankara’s concerns about those it considers terrorists in their countries, the presidential communications office said in a statement.

It said Erdogan called upon Sweden to lift defensive weapons export restrictions it imposed on Turkey over Turkey's 2019 incursion into northern Syria. Erdogan also said he expected Stockholm to take "concrete and serious steps" against the Kurdish Workers’ Party, or PKK, and other groups that Turkey views as terrorists.

He told Niinisto "that an understanding that ignores terrorist organizations that pose a threat to an ally within NATO is incompatible with the spirit of friendship and alliance," the statement added.

In another call, the Turkish president also raised Turkey's concerns with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has said he would listen to Turkey's concerns on the matter.

On Thursday, Niinisto and Andersson visited Washington, where they spoke with US President Joe Biden about their bids to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While other NATO nation appear welcoming to have Finland and Sweden join, Turkey has raised objections to their accession, principally over the presence of alleged terrorists in their countries and the block on arms sales.

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Russian Missile, Drone Attack Kills 2 People in Ukraine's Capital

A municipal worker clears the rubble from a balcony of a residential building, damaged after a Russian strike, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A municipal worker clears the rubble from a balcony of a residential building, damaged after a Russian strike, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
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Russian Missile, Drone Attack Kills 2 People in Ukraine's Capital

A municipal worker clears the rubble from a balcony of a residential building, damaged after a Russian strike, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A municipal worker clears the rubble from a balcony of a residential building, damaged after a Russian strike, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Russia launched a ballistic missile and a barrage of drones at Ukraine's capital before dawn on Wednesday, killing at least two people in apartment buildings, Ukrainian officials said.

Eight people were also wounded in the attack, including four children, the Kyiv City Military Administration said in a post on Telegram.
The attack came before Russia's planned unilateral 72-hour ceasefire in the more than three-year war to coincide with celebrations in Moscow marking Victory Day in World War II, The Associated Press reported. The US has proposed a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine has accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for ceasefire terms more to its liking.
The Kremlin said that the truce, ordered on “humanitarian grounds,” would start on Thursday and last through Saturday to mark the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expecting foreign dignitaries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to watch a military parade in Red Square during the 80th anniversary celebrations. Any Ukrainian attack, like Tuesday's drone barrage that forced all four international airports around Moscow to temporarily suspend flights, would be embarrassing for the Russian leader.
The Kremlin announced Tuesday that Putin will travel to China at the end of August and beginning of September. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Moscow has drawn closer to China as Western countries sought to isolate Beijing diplomatically. Russia has become increasingly dependent economically on China because of Western sanctions.
At least one ballistic missile and 28 Russian drones were recorded in Kyiv's airspace, authorities said. Air defense forces shot down the missile and 11 drones.
A five-story residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district in the center of the capital was hit by drone debris, sparking a fire in several apartments where the victims were found, he said. Four people, including three children, were hospitalized, while others received treatment on site.
In the Sviatoshynskyi district, fire broke out across multiple upper-floor apartments of a nine-story building after drone debris impact, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. Five people were rescued from the blaze, which spanned 100 square meters.
In Dniprovskyi district, the upper floors of a high-rise were partially destroyed by a drone strike, but no injuries were reported. In Solomianskyi, a ballistic missile was intercepted by air defense, with the warhead falling and damaging nonresidential infrastructure. One person was wounded in that strike.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the attack. Russian officials reported shooting down dozens of Ukrainian drones overnight, with local Gov. Alexander Bogomaz writing on social media that more than 140 airborne targets had been destroyed over Russia’s Bryansk region.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that local air defenses had repelled an attack by nine drones close to the Russian capital.
Drone attacks were also reported over the Tula region, where officials reported five drone attacks, and the Yaroslavl region, where local leader Gov. Mikhail Evraev said three drones had been destroyed.
In the city of Saransk, 630 kilometers (390 miles) east of Moscow, officials announced Wednesday that kindergartens, schools, colleges and universities would close temporarily. The message came shortly after local Gov. Artem Zdunov warned residents about a potential drone threat over the city. Local officials also posted warnings on social media against sharing photos and videos that showed the fallout from drone strikes.