NATO now points Allied leaders’ summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. After assuming that the electoral panorama in Turkey delayed the ratification of Stockholm and Helsinki’s accession to summer, it set next July as the deadline for Sweden and Finland’s participation in the organisation.
In the statements made by the US ambassador to NATO before the meeting of allied defense ministers, Julianne SmithHe insisted that the allies wanted Sweden and Finland to join the coalition, and that Washington hoped to complete the process by the July 11 and 12 summit.
“We are working closely with countries awaiting approval, hungary and turkey, and many of us said that our interest and expectation is that Sweden and Finland should join the alliance as soon as possible. “Many allies, including the United States, want this to happen before the Vilnius summit,” he said.
Drawing attention to the contributions of the Swedes and Finns to NATO, Smith underlined their closeness to the alliance and argued that they would contribute to many military capabilities by improving the security environment in Turkey. Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea.
No progress in recent months between Turkey and two candidates and call for next election 14 may, with the rooms disbanding, currently excludes any confirmation of participation. An Allied source shares this analysis and insists that Sweden and Finland join NATO at the same time, after Helsinki has suggested a possible stand-alone move, as Ankara focuses its veto on Stockholm.
This allied source points to June, When the Turkish Parliament was established as a possible moment to resolve the situation, but in any case the ultimate goal is to have good news for the meeting in Vilnius.
These deadlines have been adopted by its president, Finland itself. Sauli NiinistoHe pointed out that the summit in Lithuania was the stage to formalize entry into the organisation, and warned that if the blockade continued until then, it would raise questions about NATO integration, and insisted that Turkey’s veto had become a problem for its military alliance.
Stockholm and Helsinki formally requested membership in May and their processes were processed in record time, but were vetoed by Ankara, which claimed non-cooperation on counter-terrorism issues to block official approval. The Turkish authorities are blocking their entry until they hand over all those accused of membership of Kurdish organizations that have been declared a terrorist organization by the Turkish government. Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Turkey’s veto was initially lifted on the eve of the NATO leaders’ summit in Madrid, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a tripartite agreement with Sweden and Finland on cooperation in the fight against terrorism. They do, but this has not turned into a more conciliatory position for Turkey, which insists on the extradition of people linked to the PKK.