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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement on Sunday that Turkey may allow Finland to join NATO without neighboring Sweden.
This is the first time that Erdogan has opened up to such a scenario. Nevertheless, Finland undertakes to become a member of the defense alliance with the Swedes.
– We stay the course, says Finnish President Sauli Niinistö to the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
He says Erdogan’s statements do not change Finland’s position and that it will join the NATO joint membership plan with Sweden.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto repeated Niinistö’s position at a press conference on Monday afternoon.
– Our firm desire remains to join NATO at the same time as Sweden, he said, adding that he hoped joint membership could be approved at the NATO summit in Vilnius on 11 -12. July.
Haavisto last week left the door wide open for the country to join NATO without Sweden, although he stressed that cooperation between the two countries would continue.
Turkey and Hungary are still the only two of NATO’s 30 member states that have not ratified the membership of Sweden and Finland. The Hungarian National Assembly is expected to give the green light to both in February.
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