Finland, Sweden poised to gain entry to NATO
BERLIN/STOCKHOLM — NATO and the United States said on Sunday they were confident Turkey would not hold up membership of Finland and Sweden in the Western military alliance, as the two Nordic states took firm steps to join in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö confirmed on Sunday that his country would apply to join NATO, while Sweden's ruling Social Democrats announced an official policy change that would pave the way for their country to apply within days.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said she will go to parliament today to assure support for an application, which NATO allies expect to be made jointly with Finland.
“Today the Swedish Social Democratic Party took a historic decision to say yes to apply for a membership in the NATO defence alliance,” tweeted Sweden's foreign minister, Ann Linde. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine has deteriorated the security situation for Sweden and Europe as a whole.”
Turkey, which had surprised its allies in recent days by saying it had reservations about Finnish and Swedish membership, laid out its demands on Sunday on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers in Berlin. Ankara said it wanted the Nordic countries to halt support for Kurdish militant groups present on their territory, and lift bans on some sales of arms to Turkey.
“I'm confident that we will be able to address the concerns that Turkey has expressed in a way that doesn't delay the membership,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
Any decision on NATO enlargement requires approval by all 30 allies and their parliaments. Ankara, a NATO member for 70 years, will be under immense pressure to yield, NATO diplomats said.
Once vetted by NATO allies — and if Turkish objections are addressed — approval could come in just a matter of weeks, although ratification by allied parliaments could take up to a year, diplomats and officials have said.
Moscow has responded to the prospect of the Nordic states joining NATO by threatening retaliation, including unspecified “military-technical measures.”