Finland Likely to Join NATO Before Sweden
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Loading... - Aylen Lopez
- 15 Mar 2023
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The delay would be due to Turkish objections.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson admitted on Tuesday at a news conference that, due to Turkish opposition to Sweden’s bid to join NATO, Finland, its neighbor, is likely to join the alliance before Sweden does.
Although the two countries vowed to join “hand in hand” last year, Kristersson acknowledged Tuesday, “it’s not out of the question that Sweden and Finland will be ratified in different stages.”
Every existing NATO member must approve of a new member, and Turkey, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, up for reelection this May, claims that Sweden is too lenient on groups and individuals that Turkey deems to be a threat, notably including Kurdish groups.
There is a Kurdish diaspora of roughly 100,000 in Sweden (Finland’s Kurdish population is closer to 15,000).
“Basically, this is not about whether Sweden becomes a NATO member,” Kristersson said, “but about when Sweden becomes a NATO member.” Read More..
