Sweden, Finland mull NATO entry as Turkey voices opposition & More News Here

“We are following the developments with Sweden and Finland, but we don’t have favorable thoughts,” Erdogan informed reporters Friday.

While he stopped in need of asserting a veto of any potential membership bid, the Turkish chief accused Scandinavian international locations of harboring “terrorist organizations,” in reference to teams such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is outlawed in Turkey. He added that Greece’s NATO membership had been a “mistake” that shouldn’t be repeated and accused the nation of bias in opposition to Turkey.

Turkey has walked a fragile line in the course of the battle in Ukraine, making an attempt to not offend Russia, with which it has shut financial ties, or the federal government in Kyiv, an ally that can be a purchaser of Turkish-made fight drones.

Earlier Friday, Sweden launched a parliamentary report which argued that NATO membership would “raise the threshold for military conflicts and thus have a deterrent effect in northern Europe.”

The doc, titled “Deterioration of the security environment — implications for Sweden,” avoided casting judgment on whether or not Sweden ought to be part of NATO, however famous that the nation’s safety could be “adversely impacted” if Finland had been to affix and go away Sweden as the one nonmember within the Nordic and Baltic areas.

The invasion of Ukraine, which is a NATO associate however not a member, had proven the hazards of remaining exterior the alliance’s collective protection construction, it famous.

The report additionally outlined the hazards of accession to NATO, acknowledging that Russia would “react negatively” to any such step. The most possible response would come with “various types of influence activities” in opposition to most of the people or Swedish decision-makers, it stated, and underlined the significance of acquiring safety assurances from international locations throughout the alliance throughout any transition interval earlier than Sweden gained full membership.

Sweden and Finland have remained exterior the U.S.-led Cold War alliance because it was based in 1949, however Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is forcing each nations to select a aspect.

Finland’s president and prime minister stated Thursday that their nation should “apply for NATO membership without delay.” The choice, which is predicted within the coming days, have to be authorised by parliament.

Sweden is prone to observe Finland’s lead, and Stockholm may apply for NATO membership as early as Monday, Reuters reported.

Kareem Fahim in Istanbul contributed to this report.