U.S. says Turkey's approach to Sweden, Finland NATO bid not a bilateral topic - Reuters.com

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - Turkey's approach to the NATO accession process of Sweden and Finland is not a bilateral issue between Washington and Ankara, the U.S.

State Department said on Friday, but added that Washington was speaking with Ankara and it remained confident that the dispute would be overcome.

While the problem officially is between Sweden, Finland and Turkey, many analysts have said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan may be aiming to use this moment to push Washington to act on some of the long-standing issues that have weighed on bilateral ties between the two NATO allies.

"The question of Turkey's approach to the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden, that is not a bilateral question between the United States and Turkey," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a telephone briefing.

Western leaders have expressed confidence that Ankara's objections will not be a road block for the NATO accession process of the Nordic countries without spelling out how Turkey's position could be changed.

"For their parts, Finland, Sweden are working directly with Turkey, but we're also talking to Turkey about this issue," Price said, but did not give further details about the talks aside from saying Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu had held a "good, constructive" conversation on Wednesday in New York.

"We remain confident that Turkey's concerns will be addressed, and that we'll be able to reach consensus as an alliance on the accession process for Finland and Sweden," Price added.