Millennium Post (Kolkata)

NATO nations sign accession protocols for Sweden, Finland

The move further increases Russia’s strategic isolation in the wake of its invasion of neighbouri­ng Ukraine in Feb and military struggles there since

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BRUSSELS: The 30 NATO allies signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on Tuesday, sending the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislativ­e approvals and possible political trouble in Turkey.

The move further increases Russia's strategic isolation in the wake of its invasion of neighbouri­ng Ukraine in February and military struggles there since.

This is truly a historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for NATO, the head of the alliance, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenber­g, said.

The 30 ambassador­s and permanent representa­tives formally approved decisions made at a NATO summit in Madrid last week, when the leaders of member nations invited Russia's neighbour Finland and Scandinavi­an partner Sweden to join the military club.

Securing parliament­ary approval for the new members in Turkey, however, could still pose a problem even though Sweden, Finland and Turkey reached a memorandum of understand­ing at the Madrid summit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Ankara could block the process if the two countries failed to grant Turkey's demands for the extraditio­n of people it views as terror suspects. The people wanted in Turkey have links to outlawed Kurdish groups or the network of an exiled cleric accused of a failed 2016 coup in Turkey.

He said Turkey's Parliament could refuse to ratify the deal. It is a potent threat since NATO accession must be formally approved by all 30 member states, which gives each a blocking right.

Stoltenber­g said he expected no change of heart. There were security concerns that needed to be addressed. And we did what we always do at NATO. We found common ground, he said.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has given the process added urgency. It will ensconce the two nations in the Western military alliance and give NATO more clout, especially in the face of Moscow's military threat.

We will be even stronger and our people will be even safer as we face the biggest security crisis in decades, Stoltenber­g said.

At a news conference, the foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland were asked whether the memorandum specified people who would have to be extradited to Turkey. Both ministers said no such list was part of the agreement.

We will honor the memorandum fully. There is, of course, no lists or anything like that in the memorandum, but what we will do is to have better cooperatio­n when it comes to terrorists, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto was equally adamant.

Everything that was agreed in Madrid is stated in the document. There are no hidden documents behind that or any agreements behind that, Haavisto said.

Every alliance nation has different legislativ­e challenges and procedures to deal with, and it could take several more months for the two Nordic nations to take their place as official NATO members.

Germany's parliament is set to ratify the membership bids Friday, according to the Free Democrats, a partner party in the country's coalition government. Other parliament­s might only get to the approval process after long summer breaks.

I look forward to a swift ratificati­on process, Haavisto said.

In the meantime, the protocols approved Tuesday bring both nations deeper into NATO's fold already. As close partners, they already attended some meetings that involved issues that immediatel­y affected them. As official invitees, they can attend all meetings of the ambassador­s even if they do not yet have any voting rights.

 ?? PTI ?? Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, left, Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde, right, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenber­g attend a media conference after the signature of the NATO Accession Protocols for Finland and Sweden in the NATO headquarte­rs in Brussels, Tuesday
PTI Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, left, Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde, right, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenber­g attend a media conference after the signature of the NATO Accession Protocols for Finland and Sweden in the NATO headquarte­rs in Brussels, Tuesday

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