But Turkey has long said it will block its NATO membership, Sweden’s, unless it adheres to its political demands.
TURKEY TO OPPOSE SWEDEN’S NATO MEMBERSHIP AFTER STOCKHOLM PROTEST SEES KORAN BURNED
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told local media on Tuesday that given Turkey’s opposition, Helsinki will have to “assess whether it turns out that Sweden’s candidacy is blocked for a long time. “
The comments are one of the first cases in which a Western official has warned that a diplomatic solution may not be found between the candidate nations, NATO and Turkey.
Later on Tuesday, Haavisto backtracked on his suggestion when he spoke in the Finnish parliament and said his comments were “inaccurate” and reaffirmed Helsinki’s commitment to participate in NATO alongside Sweden.
TURKEY SAYS SWEDISH DECISION NOT TO INVESTIGATE KURDISH PROTEST ‘ABSURD’
The NATO club would guarantee extensive Article 5 security protections for Sweden and Finland, which have a border with Russia and have seen increasing aggression from Moscow, adding threats of deployment of nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles along its western border.
But despite months-long negotiations between Turkey, NATO, Sweden and Finland, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the two nations of harboring Americans Ankara considers Kurdish terrorists.
Weekend protests by pro-Kurdish forces outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm infuriated Erdogan, who on Monday said it was an insult after flags bore the symbol of the PKK, an organization designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union. and Turkey—were deployed and reportedly a Koran was burned.
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“It is transparent that those who allowed such infamy to occur in front of our embassy can no longer expect any charity from us regarding their application for NATO membership,” Erdogan said on Monday.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said he had contacted the Finnish government about Haavisto’s comments and that the NATO secretary general pushed for a united front regarding NATO’s negotiations with Turkey.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Caitlin McFall is a reporter for Fox News Digital and covers political, U. S. and news news.