BRUSSELS: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg raised the possibility for the first time Tuesday (Jan 14) of Finland joining NATO without Sweden, saying ratifying the two at the same time was not the 'main question'. Parliaments in all 30 members of the military alliance must formally ratify Finland and Sweden befo
BRUSSELS: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg raised the possibility for the first time Tuesday of Finland joining NATO without Sweden, saying ratifying the two at the same time was not the"main question".
"So the main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together. The main question is that they are both ratified as full members as soon as possible," Stoltenberg said ahead of a meeting of NATO allies. "Sweden and Finland fulfil the conditions that we have agreed upon in Madrid so it is very important for NATO as a whole that Sweden and Finland can join before the next summit", she told reporters.But a majority of Finns said in a poll this month that they wanted to go ahead and join NATO if Sweden's membership was delayed.Joining separately would be"unfortunate", Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Tuesday.
Türkiye has so far refused to ratify the two countries' membership bids, primarily because of Sweden's refusal to extradite dozens of suspects that Ankara links to outlawed Kurdish fighters and a failed 2016 coup attempt.
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