Finland’s foreign minister says a time-out of a few weeks was needed in Finland and Sweden’s talks with Turkey on their application to join the NATO military alliance.
“We still have to evaluate the situation if it turns out that Sweden’s application is stalling for a long time to come,” Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told Finnish broadcaster YLE.
He said he had spoken with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who had stressed to Haavisto that the military bloc would like to see the two Nordic nations join simultaneously. Until now, Sweden and Finland have been committed to joining the alliance together, but Haavisto’s comment to YLE raised concerns that Finland was considering proceeding without its Nordic neighbor.
Pro-Kurdish and anti-Turkish demonstrations in Stockholm have complicated the process. On Saturday, a far-right activist from Denmark staged a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm where he burned the Quran, Islam’s holy book. A separate pro-Kurdish demonstration was held later Saturday in the Swedish capital.
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