Without neighboring Sweden
Turkey is due to agree to Finland joining NATO on Friday
3/15/2023 6:23 p.m
Then without Sweden: According to Turkish President Erdogan and his Finnish counterpart Niinistö, Ankara’s approval of Helsinki’s NATO membership is imminent. It should probably be announced on Friday when the two meet.
Finland could soon get the green light from Turkey for its planned NATO membership ahead of its close Nordic partner Sweden. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö is on a two-day working visit to Turkey on Thursday, where he will also meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday. A representative of the staff of the Turkish President confirmed the Finnish news agency STT.
According to this, Finland’s admission could be ratified before the elections in Turkey on May 14. Niinistö wrote on Twitter that the Turks hoped he would be there when they announced their decision. Of course he agreed. According to Niinistö’s office, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto will also be present.
When asked by reporters in Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey would “keep the promise it made” and could agree to Finland’s accession before Sweden’s. However, it has so far remained unclear whether, when and how Turkey will give its consent. “We will meet the President (Sauli Niinistö) on Friday (…) and then do what is necessary,” Erdogan continued.
Scholz is pushing for Sweden to join NATO
Finland and Sweden had applied for NATO membership around ten months ago. 28 of the 30 current members have ratified their accession protocols, only Hungary and Turkey not yet. Ankara is blocking the accession, among other things, with reference to an insufficient fight against “terrorist organizations” among the NATO candidates.
These objections are primarily aimed at Sweden. Therefore, for some time it has been discussed whether Turkey will first agree to Finland joining NATO and Sweden could then follow suit at a later date. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said during a visit to Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin that the signs of the past few weeks indicate that Turkey is preparing to ratify Finland’s accession before Sweden’s.
“We are also prepared for this situation,” said Kristersson. But make no secret of the fact that Sweden would prefer joint accession with Finland. “We believe that we are ready for ratification. But we respect that only Turkey can make Turkish decisions,” he said.
Scholz reiterated that Germany wanted the two Nordic countries to become NATO members very quickly. Measured against the duration, it is also a fast accession process. “But we already have the goal that this will soon become something and that Sweden will become a member of NATO very quickly,” said Scholz. “It’s good for Sweden, it’s good for NATO and our alliance, which has reaffirmed its importance and importance in recent months.” North Atlantic cooperation is needed for security in Europe.