The rapid entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO remains a priority. This was announced on Tuesday, February 28, by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“The rapid entry of Finland and Sweden into a military alliance is now the number one priority, and progress has been made here: Finland, Sweden and Turkey should meet in Brussels next week,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Helsinki, which was broadcast by the NATO press service .
According to him, both candidates for accession fulfilled the requirements that Turkey outlined in the tripartite agreement in Madrid in July last year.
“The time has come to ratify and fully welcome Finland and Sweden as members,” the Secretary General said.
Earlier this month, Stoltenberg said that 28 out of 30 countries had ratified the documents needed for Sweden and Finland to join NATO. Only Turkey and Hungary did not ratify the documents. The Secretary General of the alliance announced that he is actively working to resolve this issue.
In particular, he pointed out that an agreement was reached to resume negotiations and hold a meeting with the participation of Sweden, Finland and Turkey in March.
Finland and Sweden applied to join the alliance on 18 May. Turkey opposed their joining the alliance. Ankara has presented 10 conditions for lifting its membership veto, including an offer of support in the fight against Turkish-recognised terrorist organizations, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
However, on February 1, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan completely ruled out Sweden’s NATO membership. The reason was the desecration of the Koran, which, with the consent of the authorities, took place in the northern republic. At the same time, Erdogan positively assessed Finland’s chances, but noted that Helsinki should take an “adequate position” in order to count on Ankara’s support.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, reacted critically to the desire of Sweden and Finland to join NATO, noting that in this way the security of these two countries would not be ensured.
