NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. File photoBRUSSELS/ANKARA, June 25 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he had discussed with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan the applications of Finland and Sweden for membership in the alliance, negotiations will continue next week.Finland and Sweden against the backdrop of Russia On May 18, a special military operation in Ukraine handed over to the NATO Secretary General an application for joining the alliance. Turkey has blocked the start of the process of consideration of these applications. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara cannot say «yes» to the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO, because it cannot believe their assurances about relations with representatives of the PKK, banned in Turkey. «Good call with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of our esteemed member , Turkey, to discuss the applications of Finland and Sweden to NATO. We agreed to continue negotiations in Brussels and Madrid next week,» the message posted on Stoltenberg's Twitter account says. The leader emphasized that Sweden and Finland should take concrete and sincere steps against the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey, lift the embargo and similar restrictions on Turkey on exports of defense industry products, and commit not to resort to them in the future. 
The Ukrainian crisis will be resolved at the negotiating table, NATO Secretary General said
