Finland may consider joining NATO without Sweden if Turkey continues to jointly block its joining the military alliance.
In a television interview Tuesday morning, the foreign minister said Pekka Harvest He said that Nordic countries joining NATO was “absolutely the best option” but “must be ready to assess the situation”.
“Has something happened that has long-term hindered the progress of the Swedish application?” Harvest asked.
The answer to his question seems to be yes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Monday that Sweden no longer supports Turkey’s NATO proposal after Danish militants burned copies of the Quran in Sweden over the weekend.
A few hours after his first remarks, Haavist spoke to journalists at a hastily prepared press conference in parliament, clarifying his comments that he was “inaccurate” and that Finland would still join NATO alongside Sweden. I was hoping to
Despite the setbacks, the Foreign Minister’s comments were the first tacit acknowledgment that the Finnish government was looking ahead and considering scenarios that might unfold, and that the alliance will reach a unified agreement. As you are about to present, you are questioning becoming a NATO member in parallel with Sweden. Frontline in the face of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“He’s now saying that it’s always been implicitly said, but it wasn’t said before, our goal is that we want to do this with Sweden, but Finland alone can do that. No one, not Sanna Marin or Pekka Haavisto, is a Ninisto president.” Charlie Salonius PasternakSenior Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) Helsinki.
“At his press conference, he made it clear that as long as the process is going on, there is no need to think otherwise. Finnish policy has not changed. We have to think of something else, Salonius Pasternak told Euronews.
For the time being, especially ahead of the Finnish general elections in early April, serious Finnish politicians will not actively campaign for the country to go it alone with its NATO application and leave Sweden behind.
Finland believes Turkey may greenlight its NATO application between mid-May Turkish elections and the next NATO summit in Lithuania in June.
If there is still no action from Ankara after that, more serious discussions will be needed for the new government in Helsinki to explore its next steps.
What was Sweden’s reaction?
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters in Stockholm on Tuesday evening that he “understands the frustration many Finns feel” about the fact that the alliance has yet to be recognized. But he calmly said he urged the Swedes, who oppose NATO membership, to make it happen. The “severity” of the security situation.
“There are forces both in Sweden and outside of Sweden trying to prevent Sweden from becoming a NATO member,” said Christersson, who came to power in the fall with the support of far-right parties.
“And we must see that there are provocateurs who seek to sour relations between Sweden and other countries and delay Sweden’s accession to NATO.”
Finland’s decoupled membership ‘could work more for Sweden’
The worst possible scenario for NATO members is that Turkey ratifies the Finnish proposal but not the Swedish one.
Finns submit their own legal papers to Washington, D.C. to take final step to full NATO membership, even if it means leaving Sweden out of the military You have to decide whether
“It’s really bad for Finnish politicians and domestic politics. The Kremlin would be happy if NATO members turned against the will of the United States and other NATO countries. Geopolitically this would be great for Russia. ‘ said Salonius Pasternak. .
He thinks Sweden understands that Finland wants to join NATO, but even if the stars don’t match, Finland’s membership would improve Nordic and Baltic security.
“And Finland could work more for Sweden as an internal member than an external one.”
