Ukraine war: Nato formally launches ratification process for Sweden, Finland membership, amid Türkiye’s veto threat
- In wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland announced their intention to drop their military non-alignment status and become part of Nato
- Türkiye warned it could still block the process if the countries fail to meet Ankara’s demand to extradite terror suspects with links to outlawed Kurdish groups
The 30 Nato allies started a ceremony to sign off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on Tuesday, sending the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals.
The move further increases Russia’s strategic isolation in the wake of its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February and military struggles there since.
“This is truly a historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for Nato,” said alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The 30 ambassadors and permanent representatives are formally approving the decisions of last week’s Nato summit when the alliance made the historic decision to invite Russia’s neighbour Finland and Scandinavian partner Sweden to join the military club.
Despite the agreement in the alliance, parliamentary approval in member state Türkiye could still pose problems for their final inclusion as members.
Last week, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Ankara could still block the process if the two countries fail to fully meet Turkey’s demand to extradite terror suspects with links to outlawed Kurdish groups or the network of an exiled cleric accused of a failed 2016 coup in Türkiye.