Stoltenberg expects a quick decision from Turkey on Finland’s entry

BRUSSELS, March 20. () –

The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, has indicated this Monday that he expects a quick decision from Turkey on Finland’s accession to NATO, insisting that the important thing is that Sweden and Finland join the organization as soon as possible and not that it do “exactly at the same time”.

Speaking from the NATO headquarters in Brussels where he received the Finnish Foreign and Defense Ministers, Stoltenberg welcomed Ankara’s decision to proceed with the ratification of the accession protocol and indicated that he expects a “quick decision ” by the Turkish parliamentary bodies.

“We welcome the progress being made to finalize Finland’s ratification. And we will continue to work hard. It will be a priority to ensure that Sweden also becomes a full member in the near future,” he said.

The political chief of NATO has explained that the underlying objective is the entry of Stockholm and Helsinki into the military alliance and despite the fact that both have gone hand in hand throughout the process, he has taken away the fact that Turkey now gives the go-ahead only to Finland because “the most important thing is that they become members as soon as possible, but not that they join at exactly the same time”.

The entry of Sweden and Finland into the Atlantic organization depends on the approval of the 30 allies. In total, 28 countries have already completed the procedures, so that only Hungary and Turkey remain to complete the ratification process.

Sweden has admitted this Friday that Finland’s solo entry into NATO was not desirable, while, for her part, the Finnish Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, has assured that Helsinki will do “everything possible” to ensure that Stockholm also get the go-ahead from Ankara.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has indicated that the talks with Sweden “continue” and recalled that the Swedish authorities were given a list of “120 terrorists” whose delivery he demands without any changes for now.