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Added on the 12/06/2022 19:20:15 - Copyright : Euronews EN
"About the NATO membership, we have to take it calmly and we have to wait for the elections in Turkey to take place" says Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. The comment comes after the Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto announced Finland has to consider joining NATO without Sweden, whose bid appears to grind to a halt after Ankara blasted Stockholm over anti-Turkey protests. "Keep your watch on the ball but don’t be a ball yourself," adds Niinisto. SOUNDBITE
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcome Turkey's decision to push ahead with ratifying Finland's membership, and says Sweden should also be allowed to join as soon as possible. "The most important thing is that both Finland and Sweden become full members of NATO quickly, not whether they join at exactly the same time," Stoltenberg said. SOUNDBITE
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, asks the country's parliament to vote on Finland's application to joint the NATO defence alliance, saying "I wish that this decision will be good for our countries and our alliance". Erdogan's announcement comes as Finnish President, Sauli Niinistö, visits Ankara. SOUNDBITE
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, welcomes his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinistö, with an official welcoming ceremony in the Turkish capital, Ankara. The Finnish president's visit comes as the Russia-bordering Scandinavian country hopes to receive the green light from Turkey to join NATO. IMAGES
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says "the time has come to ratify both Finland and Sweden and to make them full members of our alliance " during a press conference in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. SOUNDBITE
As the two historically non-aligned countries confirm they will both seek to apply to NATO, Finland's President Sauli Niinisto meets with the speaker of the Swedish Parliament Andreas Norlen in the presence of the King and Queen of Sweden, and delivers a speech to the parliament. IMAGES