The Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, has once again stressed the importance of certifying the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, which presented «together» their candidacy to join the bloc.
Stoltenberg, who has traveled to the United States to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, recalled that only two members of the Atlantic Alliance – Turkey and Hungary – have yet to ratify the accession of the two Scandinavian countries.
«It is important that we conclude this accession process as soon as possible. This will strengthen the security of all the allies,» said Stoltenberg, who considers that Sweden and Finland «are already being integrated into the civilian and military structures» of the bloc.
For his part, Blinken acknowledged that the United States and NATO are «very focused» on Swedish and Finnish membership, countries that «are ready to bring their strengths» to the Atlantic Alliance, according to a statement released by the military body itself.
«They are trusted partners. They are strong democracies that are dedicated to the values that underpin the Alliance and will continue to press for the completion of this process,» remarked the head of U.S. diplomacy.
Sweden and Finland submitted their joint candidacy to join the Atlantic Alliance in mid-2022, although their accession is still pending ratification by Turkey and Hungary. Ankara has demanded a series of security guarantees that Stockholm and Helsinki say they are meeting.
However, since the beginning of the year in Sweden there have been a series of demonstrations against Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and there have even been recorded burnings of copies of the Koran, the holy book of Islam.
These incidents have sparked criticism from Turkey, which has stalled giving its approval for Swedish membership and has even cancelled meetings with senior officials in Stockholm. Finland, for its part, seems to be on the sidelines of this controversy, although Helsinki has ruled out the possibility of going it alone on its way to NATO.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
