Turkey’s decision to ratify Finland’s application to join NATO is a breakthrough for the security of our region, said the head of the parliamentary committee for foreign affairs, Radosław Fogiel (PiS). He also expressed the hope that a similar decision would be taken soon with regard to Sweden’s request.
Turkey’s parliament on Thursday ratified Finland’s application to join NATO, removing the last obstacle to the country’s long-delayed entry into the Western military alliance. The 276 MPs present voted in favor of the ratification, a few days after the ratification was supported by the Hungarian parliament. According to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finland, unlike Sweden, has fulfilled its obligations under the memorandum signed last year, in which both countries applying for NATO pledged to address Turkey’s security problems.
Play
This is a very important step forward and a breakthrough for the security of our region and the entire Baltic Sea basin
Fogiel told PAP.
Of course, Poland convinces partners who still need it to admit Sweden into the Alliance as soon as possible. Only then will we close this NATO dimension of the Baltic Sea and we hope that will happen very soon. We treat Sweden and Finland in the same priority way
– emphasized the PiS MP.
In his view, the accession of both countries to the Alliance will enhance the security of our region, as well as NATO’s responsiveness.
At the same time, he noted that the accession of these countries to the Alliance also has a political and psychological dimension.
Especially when it comes to Finland’s accession. It is a country with one of the longest land borders with Russia, and its NATO membership has a chance to clear up the arguments of those who received the Kremlin’s message about “bringing NATO closer to Russia’s borders” .
Fogel said.
Finland will join NATO, Russia will do absolutely nothing about it and perhaps today’s doubters will be more open to further expansion of NATO, even to Georgia or Ukraine
– pointed out the PiS politician.
Turkey’s attitude
When Erdogan was asked about Sweden’s NATO membership, he told reporters:
There are certain things we expect from them. They have to come out first.
The Turkish government accuses Sweden of being too lenient towards groups it considers terrorist organizations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and individuals linked to the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
Apart from Turkey, Hungary is the only NATO country that has not yet approved Sweden’s application for membership.
The Hungarian government alleges that some Swedish politicians have made hurtful statements about the state of Hungarian democracy and played an active role in freezing billions of European Union funds for alleged violations of the rule of law and democracy.
Sweden, which has amended its constitution to introduce tougher anti-terror laws, has expressed hope it can join NATO before the Pact summit in Vilnius in July.
gah/PAP
Source: wPolityce