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Added on the 30/01/2023 12:43:32 - Copyright : AFP EN
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey would move forward with ratifying Finland’s NATO application, paving the way for the country to join the military bloc ahead of Sweden.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ends months of delays by asking parliament to vote on Finland's bid to join the NATO defence bloc - paving the way for the Nordic nation to join the alliance without its neighbour Sweden. Finland and Sweden ended decades of military non-alignment and decided to join the US-led defence alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is welcomed to Ankara by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, as Kristersson makes a bid to persuade Turkey to drop its opposition to Sweden joining NATO. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden and Finland abandoned their long-held policy of non-alignment and applied to join the military alliance. But Turkey has stalled ratification of their bids, accusing them of harbouring outlawed Kurdish militants. IMAGES
French president Macron meets with his Turkish counterpart Erdogan at NATO summit in Madrid as NATO leaders are set to invite Finland and Sweden to join after Turkey dropped its objections, with the alliance looking to revamp its defences at a summit dominated by the war in Ukraine. IMAGES
Sweden’s new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, is meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday in an effort to clinch Turkish approval for his country’s bid to join NATO. Sweden and Finland applied for membership in the military alliance after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, fearing that Russian President Vladimir Putin might target them next. But Turkey, which joined NATO in 1952, has been holding off on endorsing their bids, accusing Sweden and to a lesser degree Finland of ignoring Ankara’s security concerns. FRANCE 24's Jasper Mortimer reports from Ankara, Turkey.
The hold-up follows Ankara announcing it would not back Sweden's NATO bid following an anti-Turkey protest in Stockholm. Finland, it seems, is reassessing its options but still insist joining with Sweden is the number one option.
Turkey's parliament is set to vote on Sweden's bid to join NATO after President Erdogan submitted a protocol for Stockholm's admission into the military alliance.
Speaking to reporters in Vilnius, ahead of the NATO leaders summit, Stoltenberg said President Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson had agreed to terms to advance Sweden's NATO application.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made no breakthrough on Sunday in talks about Sweden’s membership in the military organization with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with officials from the two countries to meet in just over a week to try to bridge their differences.
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
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