Finland apologized to Türkiye on Wednesday for “improper remarks” made by Finance Minister Riikka Purra 15 years ago.
In a post on Twitter referring to her meetings with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during this week’s NATO summit in Lithuania and last week in Brussels, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen “also conveyed our government‘s apology for the improper remarks made years ago by a member of our new government.”
Noting that these remarks do not represent the country’s values, she said “Finland appreciates our relationship with Türkiye bilaterally and as an ally.”
Recently, racist and anti-Turkish comments made in 2008 by Purra on social media came to light.
Purra then said she was sorry for the harm and offense they had caused.
