Military Space News
SUPERPOWERS
NATO chief tells Turkey to ratify Sweden, Finland membership
Reuters Events SMR and Advanced Reactor 2025
NATO chief tells Turkey to ratify Sweden, Finland membership
by AFP Staff Writers
Ankara (AFP) Feb 16, 2023

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told Turkey on Thursday it was time to finally ratify Sweden and Finland's bids to join the Western defence alliance.

Stoltenberg arrived in Ankara 10 days after Turkey was hit by a massive earthquake that has claimed nearly 40,000 lives across the country's southeast and parts of Syria.

"In your time of need, NATO stands with Turkey," Stoltenberg said.

But he also stressed the urgency of Ankara dropping its resistance to the Nordic neighbours' bids to join the Western defence alliance.

"I continue to believe that the time is now to ratify both Finland and Sweden," Stoltenberg said after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Finland and Sweden dropped decades of military non-alignment and applied to join the US-led defence alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey and Hungary remain the only members of the 30-nation alliance that have failed to ratify the two bids by votes in parliament.

All 30 states must approve a new country's membership. The Hungarian legislature is expected to approve both bids by March.

Turkey has signalled it is ready to receive Finland into the alliance -- but not Sweden.

"We could evaluate Finland's NATO membership process separately from Sweden," Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

"Turkey's position on the membership of the two countries has been clear and unambiguous from the beginning."

Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan's main complaint has been with Sweden's refusal to extradite dozens of suspects that Ankara links to outlawed Kurdish groups and a 2016 coup attempt.

"Both can be ratified now," Stoltenberg said. "But the main issue is not that they are ratified together. The main issue is that they are ratified as soon as possible."

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SUPERPOWERS
Prigozhin, Simonyan, Medvedev: the rise of the Russian hawk
Moscow (AFP) Feb 16, 2023
The first one challenged Ukraine's president to a fighter jet duel. The second has threatened Europe with nuclear apocalypse. The third has said cannibals roam Ukraine. Russia's warmongers used to be relegated to the margins of society but now they are basking in the limelight after the Kremlin ordered its army to Ukraine. These are Moscow's fiercest hawks, whose rise points to a new military fervour in Russia: - Prigozhin: the warlord - For years, Yevgeny Prigozhin did the Kremlin's bi ... read more

SUPERPOWERS
Germany to give Slovakia Mantis air defence systems

Advanced manufacturing powering development of Next Generation Interceptor

Kremlin keeps mum on missile systems seen on Moscow rooftops

Netherlands set to boost push for Patriot missile defenses in Ukraine

SUPERPOWERS
Lockheed Martin gets $1BN contract for sea-based hypersonic strike capability

N. Korea ballistic missile appears to have landed in Japan's EEZ: PM

Russia fires dozens of missiles at Ukraine overnight: Kyiv

Final flight of HAWC Program screams through the sky

SUPERPOWERS
US ends search for downed Chinese balloon debris, other objects

Japan says past aerial objects likely Chinese spy balloons

US still in dark over mystery flying objects, rejects China balloon accusation

Oops -- US jet pilot misses mystery object with first missile

SUPERPOWERS
Multi aircraft and naval ships showcase interoperability

SES, ThinKom and Hughes enable multi-orbit resilient connectivity for critical airborne missions

Comtech receives additional funding for US Army Communications

GIT becomes Iridium Certus Service Provider to DoD and other Government customers

SUPERPOWERS
US boosts artillery round production; As EU eyes joint muntion purchases for Ukraine

France says to send Kyiv armoured vehicles within week

Ukrainian soldiers take German tank course in double time

Germany to send 'half battalion' of tanks to Ukraine

SUPERPOWERS
Sanction-hit Russia displays combat-tested arms at UAE fair

Beijing slams 'false' US claims that China may arm Russia

Germany slams Swiss ban on munitions for Ukraine

Ukraine munition appetite tests Western defence industry

SUPERPOWERS
NATO chief tells Turkey to ratify Sweden, Finland membership

Biden says will contact Xi in wake of balloon shoot-down

US says China mulling arming Russia in Ukraine war

China says deeply concerned over 'out of control' Ukraine conflict

SUPERPOWERS
Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.