Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Monday advocated pursuing the NATO membership process together with Sweden despite Turkey’s reservations about Stockholm’s candidacy.
Haavisto stressed that it is important for both Scandinavian countries to simultaneously enter the alliance. «It has to do with our own security and the need to improve security in the Baltic Sea,» the minister explained at a press conference reported by Finnish public television YLE.
In fact, Haavisto has pointed to the NATO summit scheduled for July as a possible date. «I hope that Finland and Sweden will be NATO members by the NATO summit in July,» he said.
The minister has also revealed intense diplomatic contacts on Sunday night. «We have been working closely with the President of the Republic – Sauli Niinistö. I have spoken with the foreign ministers of Turkey—Mevlüt Cavusoglu—and of Sweden—Tobias Billström–. The last call was at about 1:30,» he explained.
Sweden and Finland submitted their applications for NATO membership last May in a coordinated manner, but Turkey as a member of the Alliance has the right of veto, so it has taken the opportunity to demand Stockholm to prosecute members of the Kurdish militia-party Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
In June Turkey and the two Scandinavian countries signed a memorandum in Madrid in which they pledged to meet Ankara’s legitimate security concerns.
However, on January 23 Turkey broke off tripartite contacts with Sweden and Finland for the ratification of the two Nordic countries’ NATO membership applications after the burning of a Koran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm by the Swedish-Danish ultra-right-winger Rasmus Paludan.
On Sunday it was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who warned that they might respond «differently» to Finland’s NATO membership request, a response that will «shock» Sweden. Erdogan recalled that he has handed Sweden a list of 120 names for extradition. «You have to extradite these terrorists in order to join NATO,» he stressed.
Danish far-right leader Rasmus Paludan has announced that he will burn a copy of the Koran every Friday until Sweden joins NATO. So far he has only won the condemnation of most Muslim countries.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
