The United States celebrated this Friday the decision of the president of TurkeyRecep Tayyip Erdogan, to give the green light to Finland’s entry into the NATOwhile asking him to do the same with Sweden.
“The United States believes that both countries should become members of NATO as soon as possible,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
The Government of Joe Biden “welcomes President Erdogan’s announcement that he will send Finland’s accession protocols in the NATO to the Turkish Parliament, and looks forward to the early conclusion of this process,” Sullivan said.
He also urged Turkey to “also speedily ratify Sweden’s accession protocols”.
“Sweden and Finland are strong partners who share NATO values, will strengthen the Alliance and contribute to European security,” Biden’s security adviser remarked.
Erdogan said on Friday that he decided to delink Finland’s ratification process from Sweden’s because Stockholm has not complied with Turkish demands to extradite people it considers linked to terrorist organizations, especially from the Kurdish sphere.
The general secretary of the NATOJens Stoltenberg, affirmed this Friday that “the important thing” is that Sweden soon becomes a member of the Alliance, although it is not at the same time as Finland.
Turkey and Hungary are the only ones among the 30 members of the Atlantic Alliance that have not yet ratified the accession of Sweden and Finland, a process that began last year at the NATO Summit held in Madrid.
The Hungarian Parliament will vote on March 27 on Finland’s entry into the NATO.
In his statement, Sullivan also urged Hungary to “conclude the ratification process for both Finland and Sweden without further delay.” EFE
#urges #Turkey #accept #Swedens #entry #NATO
