NATO does not see Turkey as an obstacle to the membership of Finland and Sweden

NATO / Photo: MIA

NATO and US are convinced that Turkey will not suspend the membership of Finland and Sweden in the Western military alliance, because the two Nordic countries have taken firm steps to join in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, writes Reuters.

The Finnish president Sauli Ninisto confirmed that his country would apply to join NATO, while the ruling Swedish Social Democrats announced a formal policy change that would pave the way for their country to apply in a few days.

The Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson said he would try to secure support for parliament on the application, which NATO allies expect to be submitted alongside Finland.

"Today, the Swedish Social Democratic Party made a historic decision to say 'yes' to applying for membership in NATO's defense alliance," Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde wrote on Twitter. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine has worsened the security situation for Sweden and Europe as a whole."

The Minister of Defense of the country, Peter Hultqvist, warned that Sweden would be in a dangerous situation if it was the only Baltic country left out of NATO. "We would be left behind," he said.

Turkey, which has surprised its allies in recent days by saying it does not agree with Finnish and Swedish membership, made its demands on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers in Berlin. Ankara has said it wants the Nordic countries to end support for Kurdish militant groups present on their territory and lift bans on some arms sales to Turkey.

"I am confident that we will be able to respond to the concerns expressed by Turkey in a way that will not delay membership," said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken refused to go into detail about the closed-door talks in Berlin, but reiterated Stoltenberg's position.

"I am very convinced that we will reach a consensus on that," Blinken told reporters, adding that NATO was a "place for dialogue".

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoлуlu said talks with Swedish and Finnish counterparts in Berlin were helpful. The two countries made proposals to respond to Ankara's concerns, which Turkey will consider, while providing them with evidence that terrorists were present on their territory, he said.

Dear reader,

Our access to web content is free, because we believe in equality in information, regardless of whether someone can pay or not. Therefore, in order to continue our work, we ask for the support of our community of readers by financially supporting the Free Press. Become a member of Sloboden Pechat to help the facilities that will enable us to deliver long-term and quality information and TOGETHER let's ensure a free and independent voice that will ALWAYS BE ON THE PEOPLE'S SIDE.

SUPPORT A FREE PRESS.
WITH AN INITIAL AMOUNT OF 60 DENARS

Video of the day