The United States signaled Monday that Finland and Sweden are ready to join the NATO alliance, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan argued that Stockholm should not expect his country’s membership support over the recent burning of Qurans during a demonstration in the Swedish capital.
«Finland and Sweden are ready to join the Alliance. They are because of their military capabilities and because of the longstanding security partnership we have had (…) for decades,» explained U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price, who stressed that «they are highly developed democracies.»
Price pointed out, on the other hand, that «burning sacred books for many is a deeply disrespectful act», adding that «something may be legal – for freedom of association and expression – but horrible».
«We are also aware that those behind what happened in Sweden may be making an intentional effort to try to weaken unity across the Atlantic and among our European allies and partners,» the state spokesman lamented.
In this regard, Price pointed out that even if Helsinki and Stockholm are prepared to join NATO, «ultimately it is a decision and a consensus» of these countries with Ankara.
Erdogan warned Sweden that it should not «expect» Turkish support for its entry into the Atlantic Alliance as of today: «If respect is not shown, I am sorry but there will be no support from our side on the NATO issue,» he said.
The burning of the Koran during a protest last week has added to a series of grievances that, in Ankara’s eyes, are unacceptable. The Turkish government had already protested the destruction of an effigy of Erdogan at an earlier rally, which has left NATO enlargement at an impasse.
Sweden and Finland depend on the approval of the 30 member states of the Atlantic Alliance to join, but so far they only have the approval of 28 – in addition to Turkey, Hungary has yet to complete the formalities. The Turkish authorities have demanded from those of the Nordic countries more commitments in the persecution of Kurdish groups catalogued as terrorists by Ankara.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
