Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock in Helsinki on February 13, 2023.
Helsinki – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expects that NATO countries will approve the accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance without further delay. She said this today in Helsinki, where her Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto held talks with her. The new members have not yet been ratified by Hungary, and above all by Turkey, which has repeatedly indicated that it does not have to do so, especially in the case of Sweden.
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Baerbock believes that the accession of the two Nordic countries will strengthen the alliance as a whole. The pair of states has been promised further support by Berlin.
Finland and Sweden submitted an application to join the North Atlantic Alliance together last year in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which changed the long-term attitudes of the governments and people there on the question of membership in the defense alliance .
The entry of a pair of Scandinavian states must be ratified by all existing members. This has already happened in 28 cases. But Turkey criticizes Sweden for what it says is a haven for radicals from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). In January, it also canceled planned talks with Sweden and Finland in February when a far-right politician burned a copy of the Koran during a protest in Stockholm. regardless of Sweden. However, both Nordic countries and other allies indicate that it would be good if they were admitted to NATO at the same time.
