NATO expects the entry of Sweden and Finland in 2023 but does not give guarantees

Sweden Y Finland could enter the NATO in 2023, said this Sunday the secretary general of the organization, Jens Stoltenbergwho recalled, however, that the decision depends on the parliaments of Turkey and of Hungary.

“I hope (that the entry will take place in 2023), but I am not going to guarantee the exact date because it is, of course, a sovereign decision of the Turkish parliament and the Hungarian parliament, which have not yet ratified the agreement”, indicated Stoltenberg in an interview with AFP.

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Hungary and, above all, Turkey, have been blocking the entry of the two Nordic countries into NATO since May.

“We had negotiations, which were quite demanding, in July last year, when Turkey, Finland and Sweden agreed to a joint memorandum outlining how they could intensify their collaboration, regarding arms exports, but also, for example to the fight against terrorismStoltenberg said.

“Finland and Sweden respect this agreement and are clearly committed to long-term cooperation with Turkey on these issues. Therefore, the time has come to finalize the accession process and ratify the accession protocol.“, said.

This Sunday, the Swedish prime minister questioned some requests from Turkey.

“Turkey confirmed that we have done what we said we would do, but it also says that it wants things that we cannot and do not want to give it“, he claimed ulf kristerssonalluding to his country’s accession process to the Atlantic Alliance, at a conference on defense and security in the presence of Stoltenberg.

In December, the Swedish Supreme Court refused to extradite the journalist Bülent Kenes as the Turkish president demanded Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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The NATO Secretary General stressed, on the other hand, the speed of the entry process of the two countries.

“Of course, I would like it to be completed as soon as possible. But, at the same time, it is a fast process in relation to all NATO accession processes.Stoltenberg said.

“I am convinced that this will happen, but I will not speculate on the exact moment when it will happen.”, he concluded.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.