The entry of Sweden and Finland into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will be quick, assured the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, this Sunday, May 15
The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistoand the Finnish Government formally approved, this Sunday, May 15, the country’s request to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
This request is expected to be ratified by the Eduskunta (Parliament) this week.
“It is a historic day. A new era begins. A protected Finland is born as part of a stable, strong Nordic region aware of its responsibilities»said the Finnish president, at a press conference, together with the prime minister, the social democrat Sanna Marin.
Niinistö described the NATO integration process as “a test of the power of democracy”, which has been supported by the majority of citizens, political parties and Eduskunta deputies.
Sweden and Finland’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will be quick, assured the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, this Sunday.
In this sense, the official explained, from Berlin, that the aforementioned countries will be able to enter NATO, once they present their request for accession, therefore there will not be a “grey area” that affects their security.
A meeting of NATO ministers is held in Berlin, which is also attended, as guests, by the representatives of Finland and Sweden.
Chancellor Baerbock said that Sweden and Finland “have been pushed” by the Russian invasion of Ukraine to ask to join NATO, reported DW.com.
He added that before the invasion, which began in February of this year, the aforementioned countries did not consider that they should join NATO. But now, he said, they see this decision as a guarantee for their defense against the threat coming from Moscow.
On Saturday, May 14, Finnish Minister Pekka Haavisto expressed confidence that NATO membership would be achieved, although he acknowledged that the process could take “several months.” Meanwhile, the official is confident that his border with Russia “will remain peaceful.”
“We will take up this matter on Monday and it is very likely that there will be a strong majority in our Parliament in support of NATO membership and we will be able to apply during the next week,” he said.
The minister said that it is clear that all NATO countries have the capacity to block entry. Hence, he told him, the importance of having good contacts with everyone.
The admission of new members must be accepted by all its members. In this context, for some analysts, Turkey seeks to negotiate its acceptance of the candidacies of Finland and Sweden for certain counterparts, such as the United States backing down on its refusal to sell it the latest generation F-35 fighter jets.
“The Vast Majority Of The Turkish People Opposes The Accession Of Those Countries, Which Support The PKK [Partido de los Trabajadores del Kurdistán]a terrorist organization,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
However, he said he was not averse to discussing the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO. “But these are issues that we obviously need to address with our allies in NATO and with those countries,” he said.
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