Turkey’s opposition to Finland and Sweden joining Nato can be overcome, the military alliance’s deputy chief said as the group’s foreign ministers met for talks in Berlin.
The Finnish leadership announced on Sunday it will apply for Nato membership, while Sweden is set to follow.
Two days of talks in the German capital are focused on the two nations' membership applications.
But the Nordic countries’ intentions to join the alliance were in doubt on Saturday when Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu raised objections.
He said it was “unacceptable and outrageous” that the prospective Nato members gave support to the outlawed Kurdish militant political group PKK.
It was not clear whether discussions between Mr Cavusoglu and several Nato foreign ministers that included their Finnish and Swedish counterparts later in the evening led to progress in resolving the dispute.
As talks resumed on Sunday, Mircea Geoana, Nato's Deputy Secretary General, said he was confident that Ankara's concerns could be addressed.
“Turkey is an important ally and expressed concerns that are addressed between friends and allies,” Mr Geoana said.
“I am confident if these countries decide to seek membership in Nato we will be able to welcome them, to find all conditions for consensus to be met.”
Britain is among the Nato members who have shown strong support for Finnish and Swedish membership.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, speaking to reporters in Berlin on Sunday, said she and her fellow Nato foreign ministers were “very pleased to be joined by our friends Finland and Sweden”.
“If they do apply to join Nato, the UK is strongly supportive of that,” she said. “We’re also working closely with the Ukrainians and the Poles and others to make sure that Ukraine has Nato standard defence.”
Ms Truss said ministers taking part in the discussions in Berlin should focus on “a global Nato” because in addition to protection Euro-Atlantic security, “we also need to watch out for Indo-Pacific security”.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Nato must give Finland and Sweden a guarantee of security during the membership process.
“Germany has prepared everything to do a quick ratification process,” she said. “We must make sure that we will give them security guarantees. There must not be a transition period, a grey zone, where their status is unclear.”
Ms Baerbock was referring to the ratification period during which a country is not protected by Nato’s Article 5, which stipulates that an attack on one is an attack on all.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, meanwhile, said the US has pledged to send more weapons and aid to the war zone on the edges of Nato.
Mr Kuleba said he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Berlin on Sunday and that “more weapons and other aid are on the way to Ukraine”.
“We agreed to work closely together to ensure that Ukrainian food exports reach consumers in Africa and Asia. Grateful to Secretary Blinken and the US for their leadership and unwavering support,” Mr Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
The two men discussed the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the global food situation, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“The secretary conveyed details regarding the latest tranche of US security assistance to bolster Ukraine’s defences,” Mr Price said.
Mr Kuleba was scheduled to brief Nato foreign ministers meeting on Sunday on the situation in Ukraine and on how the alliance can help the country against Russian forces for a 12th week.
UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1 (Hudson-Odoi 90 1')
Manchester City 3 (Gundogan 18', Foden 21', De Bruyne 34')
Man of the match: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City)
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
