Finland has no plans to join NATO separately from Sweden
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen stated that Finland and Sweden continue to make efforts for simultaneous accession to NATO.
This was reported by broadcaster Yle.
"We started the NATO project together with our close partner Sweden, and we are paving this way forward together. We have no other plans. We are trying together to bring it to the finish line as originally planned," Kaikkonen said.
According to Kaikkonen, the simultaneous membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO is of particular importance to national defense.
The main obstacle to full NATO membership is Turkey, which has more claims to Sweden than to Finland. In this regard, the head of the Institute of International Relations, Mika Aaltola, told the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper that Finland should consider how it would react if Turkey agreed to ratify Finland's candidacy, but rejected Sweden's.
Two days of technical talks began Wednesday in Ankara between the Turkish and Swedish delegations to fulfill requirements in the Stockholm NATO accession agreement, namely the extradition of individuals whom Turkey considers terrorists.
Author - Olena Madiak, 06/10/2022
