Turkey Won't Block Finland and Sweden Joining NATO, Denmark Says & More News Here

Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod believes the NATO alliance will show united on the potential accession of Finland and Sweden, regardless of indicators from Turkey suggesting Ankara is just not able to assist the historic enlargement.

Kofod spoke with Newsweek on Saturday on the sidelines of the Lennart Meri Conference in Tallinn, Estonia. The annual occasion is targeted on international and safety coverage points from jap and northern European views, and this 12 months is dominated by discussions of the warfare in Ukraine and NATO’s imminent enlargement.

“With both Sweden and Finland, all the signals now coming from them look like they will apply for NATO membership, but we have to wait for a formal decision,” Kofod informed Newsweek.

“But if that happens, there’s no doubt that for the Nordic region, and particularly the five Nordic countries, it will be a historical moment. We will increase our security fundamentally.”

NATO politicians, officers and commanders have broadly welcomed Finland’s choice earlier this week to hunt full alliance membership. Sweden is anticipated to observe swimsuit, with each nations probably becoming a member of the transatlantic bloc throughout or shortly earlier than the NATO summit in Madrid on the finish of June.

But Turkey, lengthy concerned in fierce inner NATO disputes, has expressed reservations. “We are currently following developments regarding Sweden and Finland, but we don’t feel positively about this,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan informed reporters on Friday.

“We don’t want to commit a mistake,” the president added. “Scandinavian countries are like guesthouses for terrorist organisations. To go even further, they have seats in their parliaments, too.”

Erdogan’s remarks referred to members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey considers terrorist organizations. The president additionally seemed to be referring to followers of the U.S.-based Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara blames for the failed 2016 coup try.

Kofod informed Newsweek he didn’t in the end anticipate Turkey to dam Finnish or Swedish membership. “I expect unity in NATO around this issue,” the international minister defined.

“In this fundamental security discussion, I think everybody can see the situation we are in, in Europe with the Russia question and and the whole philosophy that is behind it, the whole autocratic view of the world that we are now seeing coming from Russia and the expansionism,” Kofod mentioned.

“I think that everybody sees [it is] the right thing to come together, all 30 member states of NATO—including Turkey.”

Newsweek has contacted the Turkish Foreign Ministry to request remark. Erdogan adviser and spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin appeared to melt the president’s line on Saturday, telling Reuters: “We are not closing the door. But we are basically raising this issue as a matter of national security for Turkey.”

Kofod mentioned President Vladimir Putin’s choice to invade Ukraine has confirmed a critical strategic blunder. Renewed Russian aggression has spurred the NATO enlargement Moscow has railed towards for therefore lengthy, plus has prompted Western sanctions that threaten to cripple the Russian economic system.

“I think this probably is the beginning of the end of that type of regime with that type of authoritarianism and disregard for international law, for its neighbors, expansionism with military force that we see in Ukraine taking place right now,” Kofod defined.

“I think, all of us in Europe and transatlanticly, we realize that and that’s why we’re coming together so strongly,” Kofod mentioned.

The Kremlin has repeatedly threatened retaliation if Finland and Sweden be a part of NATO. This week, Russian vitality firm RAO Nordic introduced it will droop electrical energy provide to Finland as of Sunday. National grid operator Fingrid mentioned the shortfall could be made up with extra provide from Sweden and extra energy generated from inside Finland.

“The Kremlin and Putin and what we see today is the number one enemy of democracy and democratic values,” Kofod added. “This is a huge strategic mistake by the Putin regime.”

“We wanted to resolve any disputes peacefully, with diplomatic means,” Kofod mentioned.

“We’ve offered time and time again, and we are still doing it. But he disregarded all offers for negotiations, for peaceful talks, and started an unprovoked illegal war with devastating destruction of population in Ukraine. And that has to come with the highest price possible.”

“We can stop him and also stop any precedent for that type of behavior from anywhere,” Kofod added.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry to request remark.

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