NATO chief urges Turkey to endorse Finland, Sweden accession
The Hindu
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is urging Turkey to endorse Finland and Sweden’s requests to join the military alliance
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Turkey on November 3 to endorse Finland and Sweden's requests to join the military alliance, saying the two Nordic countries had fulfilled their security commitments to Ankara.
Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in the months after Russia invaded Ukraine, abandoning their longstanding policies of military nonalignment.
Turkey, which already belongs to the Western alliance, has threatened to block the process unless the Nordic neighbors meet its demands. The Turkish government particularly wants them to crack down on individuals it considers terrorists, such as supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and people suspected of orchestrating a failed 2016 coup in Turkey.
“Finland and Sweden have delivered on their commitment to Turkey. They have become strong partners in our joint fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Istanbul after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
“It’s time to welcome Finland and Sweden as full members of NATO. Their accession will make our alliance stronger and our people safer,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “In these dangerous times, it’s even more important to finalize their accession, to prevent any misunderstanding or miscalculation in Moscow.”
However, Mr. Cavusoglu said the schedule for accepting the countries as new members would depend on when Turkey’s demands, agreed upon in a joint memorandum, were fulfilled.
“We want to see concrete steps,” the minister said, especially in combatting extremists.