Finland still hopes to join NATO alongside its neighbor Sweden, but could be forced to reconsider if Stockholm’s application is held up, the Finnish foreign minister said Tuesday.
, and is now once again threatening to derail — or at least significantly delay — the process, undermining NATO unity amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Hungary and Turkey are the only countries that still need to ratify the joint bids. Hungary has signaled it will do so, but Turkey has not, dampening hope that the two countries would be welcomed to the next NATO summit in July as members., have pressed Turkey to move forward, arguing that division and delay are a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin and a danger to the alliance.
“It’s time to welcome Finland and Sweden as members of NATO,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference with the Turkish foreign minister in the fall. Ratification, he added, is key to preventing “misunderstanding or miscalculation in Moscow.” Despite entreaties from allies, Turkey has continued to press Sweden. And the recent protests, which included the burning of a Quran, appear to have deepened the standoff.Erdogan slammed Swedish authorities Monday for allowing the demonstration.
“So you will let terror organizations run wild on your avenues and streets and then expect our support for getting into NATO. That’s not happening,” he said.War in Ukraine: What you need to knowRussia claimed Friday to have seized control of Soledar, a heavily contested salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine where fighting has raged in recent days, but a Ukrainian military official maintained that the battle was not yet over.
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