PRAGUE (AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday there is a difference in the approaches by Sweden and Finland to meeting Turkey's security demands for them to join NATO, suggesting they might join at separate times. Turkey's refusal to accept Finland and Sweden's bid to join NATO has triggered a spat within the alliance otherwise united over the two Nordic countries' prospective entry. Finland reacted with a shock of recognition. NATO will also raise targets for the stockpiling of ammunitions as Kyiv is burning through shells much faster than Western countries can produce them. Finland will become the 31st member of Nato after Turkey's parliament voted to approve its application. NATO member Hungary, the only other holdout, had said it would back Swedens bid once Turkey did. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. Turkish demands complicate Finnish, Swedish bid, Russian lawmaker vows border action if Finland sees NATO weapons, Sweden could launch formal application within days. Finance ministers from the Group of 20 nations meeting in India are set to address critical global economic challenges, including the threat posed by climate change and rising debt among low-income countries. Whats happening with Ukraines bid to join NATO? Turkey had threatened to block Sweden and Finland's membership in . His art fits in eye of a needle. Turkey approves Finland Nato membership bid - BBC News Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics NATO has also made clear that having unresolved external territorial disputes weighs against being admitted, a consideration that gives Putin an edge, since Russian forces occupy internationally recognized parts of Georgia and Ukraine. Finns crossed into Russia to buy cheap petrol; Russians bought holiday houses and took summer jobs picking berries on farms. With the plans, the alliance also gives nations guidance on how to upgrade their forces and logistics. "According to a widespread view among Turkish nationalists, the reason the PKK still exists, despite 40 years of a war waged with extraordinary means, is because it has these 'rear bases' outside Turkey," added Massicard. BERLIN/STOCKHOLM, May 15 (Reuters) - NATO and the United States said on Sunday they were confident Turkey would not hold up membership of Finland and Sweden in the Western military alliance, as the two Nordic states took firm steps to join in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A gesture by Joe Biden on this issue would undoubtedly overcome Ankara's reluctance. Finland's president and prime minister have called for the country to apply for NATO membership "without delay" in a joint statement on Thursday. "How can we trust them? Ukraine first applied in 2008 just before a summit in Bucharest, at which NATO said it and Georgia could join, but didnt set a date. Finland's President Sauli Niinisto met with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, earlier in March, By Frank Gardner, security correspondent & Adam Durbin, The surprising truth behind the 'walking' statues of Easter Island. Why are Turkey and Hungary against Sweden joining NATO? Turkey says it will not approve Sweden and Finland joining Nato The contrast was a glaring reminder of how quickly U.S. political winds can shift from Trumps nationalist policies and disdain for multilateralism to Bidens quest to rebuild American credibility on the world stage and reinvigorate the Western military bloc and whether they might change direction again in 2024. ", Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan surprised NATO allies and the Nordic countries on Friday when he said Turkey could not support the enlargement plans given they were "home to many terrorist organisations", but his spokesperson told Reuters on Saturday that Turkey had not shut the door. "There will be so much political pressure on Turkey that it will not be able to block Finland and Swedens accession," said Kempf. Once vetted by NATO allies - and if Turkish objections are addressed - approval could come in just a matter of weeks, although ratification by allied parliaments could take up to a year, diplomats and officials have said. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning, Take international news everywhere with you! READ MORE: Turkey's president says he will support Finland's bid to join NATO. In a statement following the Turkish vote, the Finnish government said joining the alliance would strengthen the country's security, and improve stability and security in the region. In the run-up to Vilnius, some countries have suggested to allow Kyiv to skip the so-called Membership Action Plan (MAP) programme that sets out political, economic and military targets candidates have to meet and that other eastern European nations had to pass before joining NATO. At the same time, allies will show how they aim to implement NATO's goal, agreed at last year's Madrid summit, of putting over 300,000 troops on high alert, up from 40,000 in the past, to counter Russia. Turkey threatens year's delay to Swedish and Finnish entry to Nato The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Finland's major political parties quickly changed their positions on . Stoltenberg had intended to make NATO's previous military spending target of 2% of national GDP a minimum requirement rather than a goal. They need to stop supporting terrorist organizations," Cavusoglu told Turkish reporters in Berlin. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com, What It Takes to Join NATO, a Club Refreshed by Putin, Prison guard lost job for taking in inmates baby: It was the right thing to do. Finland will hold a general election on April 2nd. He added that Swedish and Finnish bans on exporting of some of their defence sector goods to Turkey must end. The two countries had made suggestions to respond to Ankara's concerns, which Turkey would consider, while he had provided them proof terrorists were present on their territory, he said. You may remember my telling you, I said to our friend in the east [Putin] that if he wants the Finland-ization of NATO, hes going to get the NATO-ization of Finland, Biden told Niinist. But his ongoing hostility to Sweden was clear - as he again accused the country of embracing Kurdish militants and allowing them to demonstrate on the streets of Stockholm. Men will compete in artistic swimming at next years Paris Olympics. "As allies, we will give and receive security. IN WINTER THE snow outside Suomussalmi, a town 600km (370 miles) north of Helsinki, lies a metre deep. Haavisto later backpedaled, telling reporters in Parliament that his comment earlier Tuesday had been imprecise and that Finlands ambition to join NATO jointly with Sweden remained unchanged. For weeks, while the trapped column froze and starved, Finnish ski troops in white camouflage glided through the woods slicing it to bits. There are some political wrinkles. Turkey responded angrily to the protests, canceling a planned visit to Ankara by the Swedish defense minister. Biden said it took him about three seconds to say yes when he spoke to Niinist about Helsinkis bid, calling it the fastest ratification that occurred in modern history.. Turkey's parliament approves Finland bid to join NATO, but not Sweden Turkey's Erdogan seals deal on Finland joining Nato - BBC News Cavusoglu repeated that Turkey, which joined NATO 70 years ago, does not oppose its open door policy. Since the 1980s, the country has taken in many political refugees, many of whom are suspected by Turkey of being PKK militants. See map of which countries are NATO members - CBS News PRAGUE (AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday there is a difference in the approaches by Sweden and Finland to meeting Turkeys security demands for them to join NATO, suggesting they might join at separate times. "Just because NATO is united on the essentials, doesnt necessarily mean that there is widespread consensus on everything," summarised Kempf. 01:18 - Source: CNN. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, Finland's accession is a major strategic setback. But the bloc is split over Ukraines membership. Finland has fewer problems with Turkey, but has said it is unlikely to press ahead with a membership request without Sweden. Ad Feedback Video Ad Feedback NATO has evolved over time. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic). Sweden also promised to help Turkey join the European Union. Whether it will also be a joyful meeting of long-lost friends remains to be seen. Last week, Sweden announced that it would lift an arms embargo that it imposed on Turkey in 2019, following a Turkish military operation against the Kurdish militia YPG in Syria. Georgia remains hopeful it can join but faces a similar problem to Ukraines: Russian forces currently occupy Abkhazia and South Ossetia, internationally recognized parts of the country. 2023 BBC. The parliaments of Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify their accession. Speaking after a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Berlin, Mevlut Cavusoglu said he met his Swedish and Finnish counterparts and all were seeking to address Turkey's concerns. We have to stick together, Niinist said. "Turkey's relationship with NATO has been very complicated for several years. Turkey had been blocking approval of the plans over the wording on geographical locations such as Cyprus but allies reached agreement one day before the summit, five diplomats told Reuters. This week, Finland, the United States and our allies and partners said a resounding, loud yes. Representative Pramila Jayapal, who heads a large group of progressive Democrats in the U.S. Congress, on Sunday apologized for calling Israel a racist state as Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives pushed back against her initial declaration. Finland's NATO membership: What's next? | AP News It isnt clear when Budapest will ratify Stockholms bid. Finnish media reported that the country received 10 Turkey-related . ", This issue serves as a good reminder that NATO, even though it has been reinvigorated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is not immune to strategic divergences. Turkey says it will not approve Sweden and Finland joining Nato Its role since the collapse of the Soviet Union has expanded to include bombing Serb forces during the Bosnia and Kosovo wars of the 1990s, enforcing an arms embargo on Libya in 2011, helping Europe deal with an influx of Middle Eastern refugees that began in 2015, stepping up cyber defense and, since 2014, deploying multinational battle groups in eastern Europe in response to Russias encroachment in Ukraine. Courtney Subramanian is a White House reporter for the Los Angeles Times in Washington, D.C. Finlands President Sauli Niinisto and President Biden smile after their news conference Thursday in Helsinki, where Biden welcomed Finland to the NATO alliance. CNN . After Finland joined the alliance, the Kremlin said NATOs expansion is an encroachment on our security and added that we will take countermeasures, without specifying what those would be. As long as the terrorist organizations are demonstrating on the streets of Sweden, and as long as the terrorists are inside the Swedish parliament, there is not going to be a positive approach from Turkey towards Sweden, Erdogan said at a news conference at the inaugural summit of the European Political Community. In Brussels, Swedens Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Thursday he would ask Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn why Hungary intends to ratify Finlands NATO application before Swedens. France appears to have come around to the idea of at least giving Ukraine a road map, outlining stages and progressions, but Germany has been more cautious about discussing the matter. In a compartment behind his garage he keeps a miniature museum of vintage gear: Soviet helmets; a Finnish submachine-gun. "The allianceworks on the principle of consensus. Ukraine behind new attack on Crimea bridge - Russian official, Extreme heat intensifies across south-west US, Iran's morality police to resume headscarf patrols. Representative Pramila Jayapal, who heads a large group of progressive Democrats in the U.S. Congress, on Sunday apologized for calling Israel a racist state as Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives pushed back against her initial declaration. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, center, arrives in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Sweden also abandoned a longstanding commitment to neutrality in applying to join Nato, but unlike its neighbour it does not share a border with Russia. PETER KENYON, BYLINE: A three-way summit in Madrid between Turkey, Sweden and Finland yielded an agreement that the Nordic countries would counter the PKK, a group designated a terrorist. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Read about our approach to external linking. All NATO members must vote unanimously to admit a new country into the alliance. Surprise move as Erdogan links Sweden's Nato membership to Turkey's EU Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. read more. Now that is over.