NATO official ‘confident’ finding consensus between Finland and Sweden

BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) – NATO is confident it can overcome Turkey’s objections and quickly admit Finland and Sweden, its deputy chief said on Sunday, as the alliance prepares for a historic enlargement in the Nordic region fueled by the Russian war against Ukraine. .

Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto confirmed on Sunday that his country would apply for membership and Sweden is expected to follow suit as public support for membership has grown amid security concerns. read more

Foreign ministers from the 30 NATO member states are holding two days of talks this weekend in Berlin that focus on the membership bids of the two Nordic countries.

On Saturday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu raised unexpected objections, saying it was “unacceptable and outrageous” for potential new NATO members to support the outlawed Kurdish militant group PKK.

It was not immediately clear whether discussions between Cavusoglu and various NATO foreign ministers, as well as their Finnish and Swedish counterparts later in the evening, had produced any progress in resolving the dispute.

When the talks resumed on Sunday, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana said he was confident Ankara’s concerns could be addressed.

“Turkey is an important ally and raised concerns that are being addressed between friends and allies,” Geoana told reporters.

“I am sure that if these countries decide to seek NATO membership, we will be able to welcome them and find all the conditions for the consensus to be fulfilled,” he added.

FAST RATIFICATION

Many allies at the Berlin meeting backed Finland and Sweden, stressing the need for quick ratification of their membership bids, which typically takes up to a year.

“Germany has prepared everything to do a quick ratification process,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters, adding that ministers agreed at a dinner on Saturday that the momentum must not be lost.

“We must make sure that we give them security guarantees, there must not be a transition period, a gray zone, where their status is not clear,” he said.

He was referring to the ratification period during which the Nordic countries would not yet be protected by NATO Article 5, which guarantees that an attack on one ally is an attack on all.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly echoed Baerbock’s comments, saying she hoped it could be done “within a few weeks.”

The allies, joined on Sunday by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, discussed the issue of interim security guarantees for Sweden and Finland, whose plans have drawn threats of retaliation from Moscow.

Russia views NATO’s expansion as a threat to its own security and cited Ukraine’s ambition to join the alliance as a reason to launch what it calls a “special military operation” on its southern neighbor.

Blinken met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Berlin before the meeting. NATO foreign ministers were to discuss the situation on the ground in Ukraine and the alliance’s support for kyiv.

“We agreed that we must continue to help Ukraine win and drive Russia out,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.

“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin must face sustained defeat in Ukraine, Russia must be contained, and such aggression must never happen again.”

The allies also discussed the first draft of NATO’s new strategic concept, the alliance’s fundamental political guideline that will be renewed at the Madrid summit in June for the first time since 2010 and is expected to mark the end of the post-war era. Cold War in Europe. said a NATO official.

The document is expected to mention China for the first time, defining it as a strategic competitor, the official said, adding that China’s side is likely to be more contentious among allies than Russia’s.

Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk Editing by Gareth Jones and Raissa Kasolowsky

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