Finland’s FM hints at joining NATO without Sweden
Finland’s top diplomat appeared to suggest Tuesday that the country may have to join NATO without Sweden after Turkey’s president cast doubt on the expansion of the military alliance.
“We still have to evaluate the situation if it turns out that Sweden’s application is stalling for a long time to come,” Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told Finnish broadcaster YLE.
His comment came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Sweden not to expect support for its bid for NATO membership following weekend protests in Stockholm by an anti-Islam activist and pro-Kurdish groups.
Sweden and Finland’s historic bid to join the alliance needs the approval of all existing NATO members, including Turkey, which has so far blocked the expansion, saying Sweden in particular needs to crack down on exiled Kurdish militants and their sympathizers.
Until now, Sweden and Finland have been committed to joining the alliance together, but Haavisto’s comment appeared to suggest that Finland was considering proceeding without its Nordic neighbor.
“We are in contact with Finland to find out what is really meant,” Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Sweden respects the agreement between Sweden, Finland and Turkey regarding our NATO membership.
In a memorandum of understanding signed by the three countries at a NATO summit last year, Sweden and Finland committed not to support Kurdish militant groups and to lift arms embargos on Turkey imposed after its incursion in northern Syria in 2019.
Pro-Kurdish and anti-Turkish demonstrations in Stockholm have complicated the process. On Saturday, a far-right activist from Denmark staged a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm where he burned the Quran, Islam’s holy book.