The majority of Finnish citizens are in favor of following the path to NATO membership without waiting for Sweden, whose aspirations remain blocked by Turkey’s veto, according to a poll published Thursday.
The poll, prepared by the Taloustutkimus firm for the newspaper ‘Ilta-Sanomie’, reflects that 53 percent of those surveyed are in favor of going it alone and breaking the alliance that the two Nordic countries sealed by applying at the same time for membership in the Atlantic Alliance.
Twenty-eight percent are still in favor of maintaining a common front, while the remaining 19 percent have no opinion or do not answer, according to the study, which has a margin of error of three percentage points.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made it clear on several occasions that he does not contemplate completing the ratification process for Sweden’s accession for the time being, among other reasons because its authorities allegedly «allow» the burning of copies of the Koran at demonstrations. Erdogan, however, has disassociated Finland from the veto.
The Finnish Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, suggested last week the possibility of studying a possible break-up of the bloc, although within hours he qualified his statements and the government of Sanna Marin has warned that it is still working to join the Alliance at the same time as Sweden.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
