Finland says it agrees with Sweden in the NATO process
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto speaks during a press conference in Riga, Latvia January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
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Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto speaks during a press conference in Riga, Latvia January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
Finland maintains its plan to join NATO at the same time as its Nordic neighbor Sweden, and hopes to do so by July at the latest, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said on Monday.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signaled on Sunday that Ankara may agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden, amid growing tensions with Stockholm, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made similar statements on Monday.
“Our strong desire is still to join NATO together with Sweden,” Haavisto said at a press conference in Helsinki.
Last week, Turkey suspended NATO talks with Sweden and Finland due to protests in Stockholm that included the burning of a Koran.
Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and need the approval of all member states to join. Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified the Nordic countries’ membership.
“I still see the NATO summit in Vilnius in July as an important milestone when I hope that both counties will be accepted as NATO members at the latest,” Haavisto said.