Finland should signal its willingness to join NATO, even though the United States holds the keys to solving the deadlocks related to Finland’s and Sweden’s membership, says Mika Aaltola, director of the Foreign Policy Institute.
22:35•Updated 22:43
– There are many kinds of hostage game here, says the director of the Foreign Policy Institute Mika Aaltola in Wednesday’s A studio.
Finland and Sweden are still waiting for Turkey and Hungary to ratify the countries’ NATO membership applications. At the moment, attention is focused on Turkey in particular. The country’s foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is currently visiting the United States where he is conferring with his colleagues by Antony Blinken with.
According to Aaltola, Finland and Sweden are not the only members of the “hostage game”.
– Turkey wants fighter jets and wonders why the United States, as an ally, does not provide them.
Relations between Turkey and the United States took a hit in 2019 when Turkey acquired the S-400 missile system from Russia. As a result, the United States excluded Turkey from the F-35 fighter program.
In a short press conference before the talks began, Çavuşoğlu mentioned that the ministers will discuss defense cooperation and F16 fighter jet purchases. In public, a possible F16 fighter jet sale has been considered a condition for Turkey to accept the applications of Finland and Sweden.
It’s a big deal that the Biden administration is able to push through, Aaltola reminds. The value of the deal is estimated at 20 billion dollars.
According to Aaltola, the United States seems to have “the keys to solving problems”. Nevertheless, it is not willing to trade with Turkey on this.
Finland and Sweden should strongly signal their willingness to join NATO, says Aaltola.
– We are at the innermost gates of the fort, but there are gatekeepers who disagree and rustle among themselves about what should be done.
As a guest of A-studio, the Minister of Defense discussed the topic with Aaltola Mikko Savola (middle).
You can watch A-studio on Wednesday 18.1. broadcast from Areena.