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“We don’t know when the war in Ukraine will end,” said Jens Stoltenberg.
“Accession to NATO will make Finland safer, but Sweden will also be safer,” said the head of NATO.
Finland in NATO. All countries agree
On Thursday, Turkey’s parliament voted unanimously to grant NATO membership to Finland. Turkey is the last country to ratify Helsinki’s bid to join the alliance.
Finland’s candidacy has now been ratified by all 30 NATO member states. Helsinki’s accession to NATO has been blocked by Ankara since May last year.
Sweden’s candidacy, submitted simultaneously with Finland, was blocked by Ankara and Budapest. NATO Secretary General said Thursday evening Turkey hopes to ratify the agreement with Sweden ahead of the alliance’s summit in July.
According to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, unlike Sweden, Finland has fulfilled its obligations under a memorandum signed last year, under which the two NATO applicants pledged to address Turkey’s security issues.
Asked this week about Sweden’s NATO membership, Erdogan told reporters: “There are some things we expect from them. They have to be fulfilled first.”
The Turkish government accuses Sweden of being too soft on terrorist organizations and groups it considers security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and individuals linked to Turkey’s 2016 coup attempt.
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