Turkey Hardens Stance Against Expansion Of NATO

The Associated Press reports:

Sweden and Finland on Tuesday pushed ahead with their bids to join NATO even as Turkey insisted it won’t let the previously non-aligned Nordic countries into the alliance because of their alleged support for Kurdish militants.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s strongly worded objections caught the two applicants and other NATO members off guard, complicating what was envisioned to be a swift expansion of the alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Finnish parliament on Tuesday resoundingly rubber-stamped the government’s decision to seek membership in an 188-8 vote, while Sweden’s foreign minister signed a formal application letter to be handed over to the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

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NATO member Turkey is threatening to veto expected applications from Finland and Sweden to join the trans-Atlantic alliance. @AP explains why Turkey is objecting to the Nordic countries. https://t.co/Ii06YuFaxw

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) May 17, 2022