Welt: Erdogan’s statements on Finland and Sweden joining NATO irritate Analena Berbok

Finland and Sweden could indeed join NATO quickly, Welt notes, but Turkey is blocking it.

“In terms of strategic importance, Finland and Sweden are just as important as Turkey,” said FDP foreign policy expert Graf Lambsdorff.

Finland’s possible accession to NATO overcomes next hurdle, but at the same time causes discord within the Alliance. Following in the footsteps of President Sauli Niisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin, the Social Democrats of Finland have also spoken out in favor of their country’s accession to NATO.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Analena Berbok (Greens) expressed her displeasure over the statements of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In her view, any democracy should actually be happy when democracies with strong defense capabilities make the common alliance stronger. Erdogan had said the day before that he had “no positive opinion” on the possible membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO. However, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu expressed his willingness to talk.

FDP foreign policy expert Alexander Graf Lambsdorff on Sunday called on Erdogan to abandon his blockade of the two countries’ NATO membership. “Finland and Sweden are as important as Turkey in terms of NATO’s strategic importance,” Lambsdorff told Bild am Sonntag. He also called “false” the claim of Russian President Vladimir Putin that he feels threatened by NATO enlargement.

“Then Europe will be safer”

Lambsdorff stressed that NATO is a purely defense alliance, with Finland and Sweden already members of the EU. “Now there must be a quick and smooth process of joining NATO.” “Then Europe as a whole will be safer,” he said.

The German Reserve Association has announced close cooperation with Finland and Sweden. It is “possible that the reserves of our states will also develop together to defend the Alliance in the future,” the head of the reserve union, Patrick Sensburg, told Bild am Sonntag.

According to a representative Insa survey on behalf of the newspaper, 66% of Germans would welcome Finland’s membership in NATO, while 20% do not. At the same time, 74% fear that Putin could feel provoked by a NATO expansion. According to the data, 14% are not afraid of such a thing.

Burbok expressed the prospect of Sweden and Finland joining NATO quickly. Germany will ratify the two countries’ accession to the alliance “very, very quickly,” Bayerbock said Sunday morning on the sidelines of informal consultations with her NATO counterparts in Berlin. The German government had already talked about “all democratic parties”.

Many other NATO nations have also promised a speedy ratification process, Burbok said. He stressed that there should be no “game with the gallows” after the application of Sweden and Finland.

In a telephone conversation with Finnish President Sauli Sinisto, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had wrongly described Helsinki’s planned NATO membership. According to the Kremlin, Russia is not a threat to the neighboring country. He warned that Finland’s departure from its traditional neutrality would worsen good neighborly relations.

Finland and neighboring Sweden are already close NATO partners, but not official members. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked heated debate over NATO in both countries.

In theory, Turkey could block accession, as decisions within NATO are taken in accordance with the principle of consensus. In Berlin, Turkish leader Tsavousoglu reiterated his country’s reservations, but also said Turkey had always been in favor of an “open door policy”. Mr Haavisto said: “I am confident we will find a solution to this issue.”

* Deutsche Welle: The Berlin Summit and the new “Strategic Concept”