The 30 ambassadors and permanent representatives will formally accept the decisions made at last week’s NATO summit. The alliance invited Russia’s neighbour, Finland, and Scandinavian ally Sweden to join the military club. Turkey’s final membership could still be held up by the country’s government. BRUSSELS: The 30 NATO members will sign off on the admission … Read more
Turkey has lifted its objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, paving the door for the Nordic countries to join the alliance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan will tout this as a political victory at home ahead of elections that must be held by June of next year. Turkey accuses the Gülen organization of planning … Read more
Sweden and Finland started the application process for NATO member earlier this month, despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s opposition. As Russia’s war on Ukraine rages, Ankara is out of sync with the rest of the alliance’s member states, who support NATO expansion. If the previously neutral Nordic states want to join the Washington-led group, … Read more
US President Joe Biden said that the US would work with Finland and Sweden to keep vigilant against any threats to their common security. The two nations’ NATO membership is being examined. Mr. Biden said in a statement that he firmly supports Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bids. It would “further deepen our defense cooperation … Read more
Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday that his country will decide “to pursue NATO membership in the next days,” according to a statement from Niinistö’s office. In their first encounter in 2012, Niinistö informed Putin that “any sovereign nation enhances its security.” And that “this is what is occurring … Read more
Martti Kailio, 73, a Finnish pensioner who lives in Hiivaniemi, facing the Russian border on the opposite side of a lake, is troubled by the conflict in Ukraine. “It makes me so angry that I would be amongst the first volunteers to go out there with a loaded gun, even though I’m not young enough … Read more
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told the newspaper Verdens Gang on Wednesday that Sweden and Finland could have their NATO membership approved as quickly as two weeks, Newsweek reported. Støre also confirmed that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had taken steps to bring the two countries into the fold should they apply to join, … Read more
As one of Putin’s closest supporters warned NATO on Thursday, if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance, Russia would set up a nuclear- and hypersonic-missile bastion in the middle of Europe. Both Finland and Sweden are contemplating joining NATO, which has a 1,300-kilometer (810-mile) land border with Russia. In the event that Sweden … Read more
HELSINKI – Finland’s president called on Thursday for the country to remain calm while deciding whether to apply to join NATO as a defence against potential Russian aggression. “In the midst of an acute crisis it is particularly important to keep a cool head and carefully assess the impact on our security” from the Ukraine crisis, … Read more
