NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wants Finland and Sweden to become members of the defense alliance quickly. correspondent Rikhard Husu interviewed Stoltenberg at a Nordic press conference.
BRUSSELS In connection with the meeting of NATO’s defense ministers held in Brussels, there has been a discussion about whether NATO has changed its attitude towards the progress of Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership.
The general secretary who commented on the matter to Nordic journalists Jens Stoltenberg assures that his views regarding Finland and Sweden have not changed.
– My message will be the same as before: Finland and Sweden becoming NATO members will strengthen the defense alliance. Finland and Sweden have fulfilled the conditions of the agreement made at the July summit.
However, Stoltenberg has emphasized more clearly than before that the rapid progress of the applications is more important than the simultaneity of the processes. The general interpretation of the statement has been that NATO’s message has changed.
– Turkey can decide for itself whether to ratify both accession protocols or only one of them. My assessment is that it is most important that both Finland and Sweden become members quickly, Stoltenberg commented.
Lehti: Finland can be accepted first
Norwegian newspaper According to VG, it is possible (you switch to another service)that Finland’s NATO membership will be accepted separately, and before Sweden.
The paper refers to the president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to a nearby anonymous source who has commented on the ratification process under Stoltenberg’s visit to Turkey. Stoltenberg will visit Turkey on Thursday.
According to Stoltenberg, it is publicly known that Turkey has had different attitudes towards Finland and Sweden.
Stoltenberg emphasizes that the decision on ratification is not in NATO’s hands, but exclusively in Turkey’s. He says that he is working to ensure that the ratifications proceed in both Turkey and Hungary.
The Vilnius summit may be decisive
A NATO official source estimates in connection with the meeting that NATO’s meeting in July may be decisive in terms of Finland’s and Sweden’s applications.
asked Stoltenberg about his assessment of the impact of the upcoming summit on Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO process.
According to Stoltenberg, it is clear that the Vilnius summit creates the conditions for the emergence of decisive decisions, if the ratifications have not been decided by the time of the meeting.
– We saw this last year when Finland and Sweden were being invited to become NATO members. The fact that all the managers were in the same room with each other enabled negotiations and the emergence of a decision.
Finland and Sweden are accepted as members
Stoltenberg emphasizes that Finland and Sweden are already much closer to NATO than before the membership process started. Observer membership enables integration into the defense association even before actual membership.
Finland and Sweden have also received bilateral security assurances from several NATO countries, including the United States.
et gör att det är heltänkbart that Sweden and Finland should come out for the military without the threat that NATO should react. Det är inte så att det inte skulle ha hänt nagot.
– It is unthinkable that NATO would fail to react if Finland and Sweden were subjected to a military threat.
The public has also discussed whether Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO processes could get stuck permanently if the ratifications do not proceed in Turkey and Hungary. According to Stoltenberg, there is no reason to worry.
– I am sure that Finland and Sweden will become NATO members.