The Finland and Sweden councils on Wednesday handed in their application to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a follow-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to reports, the bids were received quite well by most of the member countries save Turkey who kicked hard against the plan. A meeting was later held in Brussels, Germany to discuss the applications but broke up after failing to make any headway towards a comprehensive resolution.
The Secretary-General for NATO, General Jens Stoltenberg promised Sweden and Finland that the application promised would be “swift and smooth” but also warned that Turkey would have to be pacified first before anything tangible could go through. He called the bids a historic place and assured the applying countries that the ally nations would deeply consider their request.
Outsiders have observed that Sweden and Finland’s interest in becoming members could indicate a most significant push for the expansion of NATO in decades. It would double the organization’s presence along Russian Borders, which the president Vladimir Putin has warned might elicit a response. The main roadblock to the two countries becoming members is Turkey which claims that they have long been a haven for the opposing Kurdish groups.
According to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the countries were on multiple occasions asked to extradite 30 terrorists but refused to comply. How could they now come before them and ask for support to become a NATO member? Yet other members of the organization are optimistic that they can change Turkey’s mind with time and nations like Britain offer security aid in the interim period before they become members and are covered by the alliance’s mutual pacts.
