The US government said on Thursday that the time has come for Turkey to ratify Finland and Sweden’s applications to join NATO, adding that alliance members who oppose membership should withdraw their membership quickly. Must be approved.
The State Department noted that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had reaffirmed his strong support for Finland and Sweden in a phone call with their foreign ministers, and that the United States would “immediately call on the remaining allies to ratify their accession”. Gives a lot of importance.
State Department spokesman Ned Price made nearly identical statements about the two calls made 13 minutes apart, saying that Blinken had “reiterated US support for Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership.”
“He again expressed our firm belief that Finland and Sweden are ready to join the alliance,” Price said of the call with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto. “The United States urges the remaining Allies to quickly ratify their accession.”
The remarks made no specific mention of Turkey, but the phone calls came a day after Blinken met with Turkey’s foreign minister, whose country is a staunch opponent of Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership.
The two countries applied to join NATO last year after concerns were expressed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Only two of the 30 members of the coalition, Hungary and Turkey, have yet to ratify their membership, although in Hungary’s case this is considered a formality and is expected to happen soon.
Meanwhile, Turkey has raised major objections to the Nordic countries joining the coalition, citing their support for Kurdish groups that Ankara sees as a terrorist threat. Turkey has demanded that Sweden take additional steps, particularly to curb these Kurdish groups, before agreeing to join NATO.
