Talks in Turkey over Sweden’s bid to join NATO end with no progress reported.

ISTANBUL — High-level talks in Turkey aimed at bridging disagreements over Sweden’s application to join NATO ended Wednesday with no progress announced.

Ahead of the meeting, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey publicly showed little sign of easing his opposition to membership in the Nordic nation, a dispute that has strained his ties with Western allies during the war in Ukraine.

The talks between Mr Erdogan and senior officials from Finland, Sweden and NATO were the first since the Turkish president secured reelection last month, and Turkey’s allies are watching closely for signs that Mr Erdogan’s stance on Sweden’s application – which he has blocked so far – has changed.

After the meeting, the Turkish government said in a statement that talks would continue, while Sweden’s chief negotiator Oscar Sternstrom told reporters that “Turkey is not ready to make a decision yet”. No date was set for a subsequent meeting.

In comments published in Turkish news media at the start of the meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Erdogan said Sweden should not expect any change in Turkey’s position as long as pro-Kurdish protests are held in the Swedish capital Stockholm.

Turkey wants a tougher stance against pro-Kurdish activists and members of a banned religious group that Turkey considers terrorists.

“This is not a constitutional issue, not a legal issue,” Erdogan told Turkish reporters on a flight returning from Azerbaijan on Tuesday, referring to steps Sweden had taken to address Turkey’s concerns. “What’s the point of law enforcement?”

Sweden and Finland both applied to join NATO after Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine in February last year, but Turkey has hampered the enlargement process by accusing the two Nordic countries of not taking Turkey’s security concerns seriously . In April, Turkey allowed Finland to join NATO, but has so far refused to do the same for Sweden, accusing the country of failing to meet Turkey’s demands.

Finland and Sweden have amended their terrorism laws and a small number of people accused of crimes have been extradited in Turkey, but much less than what Turkey has asked for.

Hungary is the only other NATO member that will not allow Sweden to join. New members of the alliance must be accepted by all members.

Last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated his call for Turkey to admit Sweden into the alliance after no breakthrough was achieved in Istanbul negotiations.

‘Sweden has fulfilled its obligations’ said Mr. Stoltenbergadding that it had lifted an arms embargo against Turkey, tightened its anti-terrorism legislation and amended its constitution.

President Biden said he raised the issue with Erdogan during a phone call last month to congratulate him on his presidential victory. “I told him we wanted a deal with Sweden, so let’s get that done,” Biden said told reporters at the White House.

Optimism had grown that Sweden could join next month for a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, but analysts said that is now unlikely.

“As far as negotiations go, it was a hit or miss, and it just broke on Sweden’s entry into NATO through the Vilnius summit,” said Paul Levin, director of the Institute of Turkish Studies at Stockholm University.

Kristina Andersen reporting contributed.