Romania and Poland hope Sweden and Finland will be able to join NATO despite Turkey's reluctance, the country's foreign ministers said Friday during a visit to Ankara.

Stockholm and Helsinki submitted their bids to join NATO last week, reversing decades of military non-alignment, after political and public support for membership soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

But Turkey, a NATO member, is throwing a spanner in the works as any membership must be unanimously approved by all members of the military alliance.

"Unlike many, I am optimistic... I am convinced that this disagreement will be resolved in the best way, in the spirit of NATO solidarity," Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said at a joint press conference with his Romanian and Turkish counterparts.

"Sweden and Finland becoming members of NATO is vital to making us stronger," he said, though adding that their joining "should however benefit all NATO allies, including Turkey".

Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said he supported "constructive dialogue".

"We hope to soon have good news concerning Sweden and Finland," he said.

Ankara accuses Stockholm in particular of providing a haven for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a "terrorist" group by Turkey and its Western allies.

It also accuses Sweden of harbouring supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based preacher wanted over a failed 2016 coup in Turkey.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country had made "legitimate" demands of Sweden and Finland.

"These countries back terrorism. They must end this support and lift restrictions on defence industry sales to our country" imposed after the Turkish army's Syria operation in 2019, he said.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

China says 'no intention' to build Solomons military base
Honiara (AFP) May 26, 2022
China has "no intention at all" to build a military base in the Solomon Islands, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday, dismissing speculation about the purpose of its recent security pact with the island state. The Chinese minister, who was in Honiara at the start of an extensive tour of Pacific island states, said the security agreement Beijing sealed last month with the Solomon Islands government was "above board, with honesty and integrity". A leaked draft of the security agreement - the f ... read more