Washington urges Turkey to quickly approve Sweden, Finland’s joining NATO

The White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday urged Turkey alongside with Hungary to quickly approve Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession bids.

In response to a question whether the Biden administration sees Turkey’s demands from the two Scandinavian countries’ to let them into the military alliance as reasonable, Jean-Pierre said that’s not something she should speak for them.

“What I can say is that we have been a strong supporter of Finland and Sweden’s applications for NATO membership. We have welcomed the rapid ratifications by our Allies, and we urge all remaining Allies to complete their own ratification process as quickly as possible,” she said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

The final approval of Sweden and Finland’s NATO bids depends on the current member states’ parliaments. The NATO accession protocols for the two Scandinavian countries need to be ratified by the parliaments of all 30 members, where Ankara says it will not approve the documents if Stockholm and Helsinki fail to fulfil their commitments, regarding the extradition of a list of people that Ankara sees as terror suspects.

Twenty-eight of 30 NATO member states by now have given the necessary official approval for Sweden and Finland’s joining the transatlantic alliance. Turkey and Hungary remain on the list that have not yet ratified the accession protocols. Hungary has earlier said that it will give its approval in February.

In response to another question if the President Joe Biden considers Turkey a reliable NATO Ally, Jean-Pierre said “We do see Turkey as a reliable ally.”