Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson signaled the Nordic nation was preparing for the possibility of joining NATO after neighboring Finland, following comments from the defense alliance’s chief that a joint entry “isn’t the main question.”
(Bloomberg) — Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson signaled the Nordic nation was preparing for the possibility of joining NATO after neighboring Finland, following comments from the defense alliance’s chief that a joint entry “isn’t the main question.”
Sweden and Finland’s effort to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been blocked by Turkey’s refusal to ratify their membership bids, with Hungary’s approval also pending. Kristersson’s remarks on Tuesday are the clearest indication yet that a possibility of separate paths to membership is now being accepted by Stockholm, even as the premier said his country has “no other plans.”
A separate entry would be “unfortunate,” Kristersson told a news conference on Tuesday. “It would not be a failure but a result of Turkey making Turkish decisions.”
His comments followed a statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier on Tuesday that “the main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together” but “that they are both ratified as full members as soon as possible.” Stoltenberg reiterated on Tuesday the enlargement process, ratified by 28 of 30 members already, has been the quickest in NATO’s modern history.
Turkey is nearing a decision to approve Finland’s accession to NATO by next month at the latest, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vetoed the Swedish bid over the nation’s alleged support for Kurdish militants, though it’s unclear whether he will change his mind and when.
Following Erdogan’s move, Finland opened the door to potentially decoupling its application from that of Sweden, though Helsinki has insisted a joint entry remains the preference. While the two countries had applied together in May, their bids are technically separate as each filed its own letter seeking admission and NATO’s rules recognize no joint memberships.
In recent weeks, focus has shifted to completing the enlargement by NATO’s summit in Vilnius mid-July following elections in Turkey — seen as a watershed in the process. That time line would also allow Sweden’s new, tighter anti-terror laws to take effect.
Speaking in Stockholm on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Ankara and Budapest to act swiftly on the issue.
“It’s our expectation that all NATO members, including Turkey and Hungary, now implement the accession of Sweden and Finland and don’t introduce any further delay in ratification,” she said.
The US has also thrown its weight behind the Nordic nations, with the Biden administration repeatedly calling for a quick ratification. A bipartisan group of Senators earlier this month told President Joe Biden that Congress shouldn’t consider F-16 fighter jet sales to Turkey until the country ratifies protocols accepting Sweden and Finland as members of NATO.
–With assistance from Iain Rogers and Kati Pohjanpalo.
(Updates with details on applications, time line from fifth paragraph)
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