Turkey admits Finland to NATO as Erdogan and Orban gang up on Sweden

Finland is set to become the latest Nordic state to join NATO after Turkish lawmakers ratified their application to join the trans-Atlantic alliance. Although Turkey has been blocking Sweden’s entry, all 30 NATO members have now ratified the admission of Finland. However, there appears to be a rift emerging between Sweden and Finland as both Turkey and Hungary continue to leverage their application processes in different disputes with Stockholm. Meanwhile, the Russian Ambassador to Sweden, Viktor Tatarintsev has issued a threat of retaliatory measures against NATO and the new member states, including military action.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had objected to the applications from Sweden and Finland, refuting their arms embargoes on Turkey and our lack of strategy for addressing the Kurdish issue in Turkey. Erdogan remains unsatisfied with Sweden’s fulfillment of the trilateral memorandum signed by the three nations to tackle the disputes. Recently, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has also started slow-walking applicants in parallel with Turkey.

Although the admission of Finland marks an end to the standoff over the Nordic countries’ admission, the dispute between Sweden and Turkey continues. Leaders from Sweden and Finland are working to find a resolution. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has high hopes for Sweden to become a member in the near future, praised Sweden’s progress, and guaranteed that NATO would respond to any threat against Sweden.