Foreign ministers of Sweden, Finland, Turkey meet to discuss NATO membership issue

Europe, News May 15, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Foreign ministers of Sweden, Finland, and Turkey met in Berlin, Germany, on May 14 to resolve disagreements over the NATO membership issue as Nordic countries pace efforts to join the military alliance.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavesto met with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss the deteriorated security situation in the region and NATO’s open door policy, according to the Swedish foreign minister.

Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu said before the meeting that “A big majority of the Turkish people are against the membership of those countries … and are asking us to block this membership.”

“The problem is that these two countries are openly supporting and engaging with PKK and YPG. These are terrorist organizations that have been attacking our troops every day… Therefore, it is unacceptable and outrageous that our friends and allies are supporting this terrorist organization,” Cavusoglu said.

According to the Turkish foreign minister, he would discuss these issues with his Finnish and Swedish counterparts during the meeting in Berlin.

However, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said she was very confident that Sweden’s membership bid would receive unanimous support from most of the NATO members.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavesto and Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde both stated that they were confident that they can sort out misunderstandings with Turkey during their meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu.

“If were to decide to do take that alternative (joining NATO) I think we would get very, very strong support from large and important countries who are members with whom Turkey has an interest in having good relations,” Swedish Foreign Minister Linde said.

The Swedish foreign minister said on May 13 that her country’s membership in NATO would boost national security and help stabilize the Nordic and Baltic regions while neighboring Finland wants to join the NATO alliance without any delay.

Finnish Foreign Minister Haavisto posted on his Twitter on May 12, “European security situation has changed. In this new situation, it is important to do everything for the security of Finland. Therefore, I support Finland’s membership in NATO.”

*^{Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson address the media in Meseberg, Germany, on May 3, 2022. (Image Credit: AFP)}*

Earlier this month, the leaders of Sweden and Finland met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to gather support for their bid to join NATO. German Chancellor Scholz assured the leaders of two Nordic nations that if they decide to join NATO, “they can count on our support.”

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed the political situation in Europe and public opinion in Finland and Sweden, pushing the leaders of the two Nordic states to strengthen defense ties with the U.S. and Europe and join the NATO alliance.

The leaders of Finland and Sweden have repeatedly highlighted that the Nordic countries’ bid to join NATO is mainly to address the security concerns and ensure regional stability. However, Sweden and Finland need all 30 NATO member countries to ratify their admittance to the military alliance.