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When will Sweden `follow` Finland in joining NATO? 0
(Dan Tri) – Sweden’s process of joining NATO still faces many challenges, while Finland has become an official member of the world’s largest military alliance.
Meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on April 5 (Photo: Reuters).
Finland on April 4 became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the world’s largest military alliance.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called it `a historic week` when the alliance `hung the Finnish flag for the first time at NATO headquarters`, marking `a good day for Finland’s security, for the
To become a member of NATO, a country needs to receive approval from all members of the bloc.
`This is a tense issue, it’s really unclear when (Sweden) will be approved. Most of the reasons are related to political issues, so the situation is very unpredictable,` Elisabeth Braw, an expert on
Last May, Sweden and Finland abandoned their decades-long policy of neutrality, deciding to apply to join the US-led military alliance due to security concerns after Russia launched its campaign.
Turkey has repeatedly asked Sweden to take a clearer stance against elements that Ankara considers terrorists, mainly individuals related to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) organization and the group that Ankara considers terrorists.
After meeting with Swedish counterpart Tobias Billstrom on the sidelines of the NATO ministerial conference in Brussels (Belgium) on April 4, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that anti-terrorism cooperation with Turkey is a condition.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in January that he would not support Sweden joining NATO after protests in Stockholm organized by anti-Muslim and pro-Kurdish groups.
Mr. Erdogan also criticized the Koran burning protest in Sweden, accusing it of being an insult to everyone, especially Muslims.
The burning of the Koran, the holy book of Islam, has angered Turkish politicians, in a context where Ankara is one of the last obstacles preventing Sweden from joining NATO.
Erdogan also criticized Sweden for allowing pro-Kurdish protests, where protesters waved flags of various Kurdish groups, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkey, the United States and the European Union consider the PKK a terrorist group because it organized an uprising in the 1980s against Türkiye.
Swedish outlook
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg once publicly acknowledged the possibility of Sweden and Finland being admitted separately and that Finland would join before Sweden.
However, Western officials have expressed optimism that Sweden will soon follow neighboring Finland in joining NATO, possibly ahead of a NATO leaders’ summit to be held in July in
Türkiye has so far not given the green light to approve Sweden’s application to join NATO.
Hungary, another NATO member, also stated that `there are still many issues that need to be resolved` before accepting Sweden into the alliance.
Mr. Hogan added that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Brussels (Belgium) this week to attend Finland’s NATO accession ceremony, will meet his Turkish counterpart to discuss NATO expansion.
In addition, the Turkish presidential election in May will also affect Sweden’s path to joining NATO.
`I think this is a win-win situation for Mr. Erdogan, especially at a critical time a few weeks before the presidential election. It helps Erdogan show that he is an influential leader,`
Meanwhile, Hungary has never made an explicit request to allow Sweden to join NATO, even though Prime Minister Viktor Orban once accused Stockholm and Helsinki of spreading `blatant lies` about Hungary.
However, even as negotiations over Sweden’s NATO accession continue to drag on, that does not mean that Sweden’s security will be affected.
`I think this issue does not significantly change the security situation. Sweden is already very close to NATO and in recent years this connection has become even closer. It is also important to remember that other NATO allies still ensure
Sweden’s effort to join NATO also faced opposition from Russia.