USA applauded this Friday the decision of Turkey to ratify the protocol of accession of Finland to the NATOalthough he has urged Ankara to do the same with Sweden, which has been left out for “non-compliance” with Turkish demands. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan requested this Friday the approval of the Turkish Parliament to the request for accession of Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a decision immediately welcomed by the Transatlantic Alliance.
“We have decided to initiate in our Parliament the process of accession of Finland to the NATO», reported erdoğan after receiving the Finnish president in Ankara, Sauli Niinisto. Of the 30 members of the Transatlantic Alliance, 28 have already approved the request for integration of the Nordic country. Only missing Turkey and Hungary, which indicated this Thursday will submit the issue to a legislative vote on March 27. The NATO accepted in June the candidacies of Finland and Swedenwhich thus put an end to decades of military non-alignment, as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey had made its approval conditional on the two candidates giving guarantees that they would stop offering protection to militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whom he accuses of being “terrorists”. erdoğan instead it continues to block the accession of Swedenbut acknowledged that Finland took “concrete measures” in recent months to meet their demands.
“I hope that (the ratification) happens before the elections,” he said. erdoğan at a press conference with his Finnish counterpart. Turkish presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for May 14, but the Turkish parliament should interrupt its work a month before the double elections.
Erdogan puts off Sweden
“We hope that the (Turkish) Parliament will have time” to conclude its debates in that period, declared the Finnish president, who described the process as “very important for Finland».
Finlandsubjected to a forced neutrality by Moscow after his confrontation with the Soviet Union during the Second World Warshares a 1,340 km border with Russia. Niinisto considered, however, that “the candidacy of Finland will not be complete without Sweden».
Jens StoltenbergNATO Secretary General, praised the announcement of erdoğan and considered that «the most important thing is that Finland and Sweden quickly become full members of the NATOeven if they don’t adhere at exactly the same time. USA also welcomed the initiative of erdoğan about Finlandbut also expect that Turkey ratify “quickly” the incorporation of Swedensaid the White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
But erdoğan threw a bucket of cold water on those expectations. “There was no positive action taken by Sweden regarding the list of terrorists,” said the president, referring to the more than 120 extraditions officially requested by Turkey.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstromregretted that his country was still waiting for the authorization of Turkey. However, the Swedish Prime Minister, ulf kristerssonhe hoped that his country could join the Alliance before the next summit of the NATOscheduled for July in Lithuania.
