NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: Turkey does not intend to block Finland and Swedenʼs membership in the Alliance

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Turkey does not intend to block Finland and Sweden from joining the Alliance.

He stated this during a video conference on Sunday, May 15.

Jens Stoltenberg expressed confidence that NATO would be able to resolve disputes with Turkey on this issue, and that the process of Swedenʼs and Finlandʼs accession to NATO is "faster than we have seen before."

"Iʼm confident that we will be able to address the concerns that Turkey has expressed in a way that doesnʼt delay the membership or the accession process," Stoltenberg said.

The ratification process will take time, as the issue will pass through the parliaments of 30 countries, but the NATO Secretary General stressed the need to act faster. In addition, Stoltenberg added that the Alliance would work with Sweden and Finland on any potential threats from Russia "to ensure intermediate security measures."

Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also called on NATO members to help Ukraine survive the war with Russia. Stoltenberg is confident that Ukraine can win.

"Russiaʼs war in Ukraine is not going as Moscow have planned. It failed to take Kyiv. They’re pulling back from around Kharkiv, their major offensive in Donbass has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives," he said.

• On Friday (May 13th), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was not positive about Finland and Swedenʼs intention to join NATO and accused both countries of deploying Kurdish "terrorist organizations". "Unfortunately, the Scandinavian countries are like boarding houses for terrorist organizations. The Kurdistan Workersʼ Party and the Kurdish Revolutionary Peopleʼs Liberation Party hid in Sweden and the Netherlands. They even took seats in their parliaments. At this stage, we cannot look at it positively," Erdogan said at the time.
• On 15 May, Finland officially announced that it was applying to join NATO. To do this, the countryʼs parliament must vote in favor of applying for membership. The Swedish Parliament is also currently considering joining the Alliance. They will join the bloc under a simplified procedure, as their armies meet NATO standards.