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The time has come for Finland and Sweden to join the NATO alliance: a statement by Mikaev Blinken at the State Department

“I am certain that we will soon be able to call both countries our allies”, Blinken said at the State Department. “There can be no doubt on anyone’s part that they are ready today to be members of the alliance.”

“My consistent position has been and remains that the time has come to ratify both Finland and Sweden and make them full members of our alliance. They have made progress since we signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkey and Sweden at the NATO summit in Madrid last year, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accused both countries of harboring members of the separatist militant Kurdistan’s Workers Party, also known as PKK, which Turkey views as a terrorist organization.

Erdoğan has also called on Finland to publicly abandon the arms embargo it imposed on Turkey in 2019, after it invaded northern Syria. A step which Sweden — which had joined the embargo — took in September.

Turkey’s foreign minister said Thursday that the applications of Sweden andFinland to join the NATO military alliance could be assessed separately.

He said they discussed the matter with the countries involved and NATO after the declaration that a different decision could be reached.

Comments on Turkish-Sweep Relations after the Quran Burning at the Pulsar’s Synagogue in Istanbul (Ukraine)

Relations between Turkey and Sweden also deteriorated after Çavuşoğlu accused the Swedish government of being complicit in the burning of the Quran at a protest in Stockholm in January.

“They have removed any restrictions on arms exports, strengthened their legislation on terrorism. And Sweden is also amending their constitution and stepped up the cooperation with Türkiye, also established a permanent mechanism to continue to work closely with Türkiye in the fight against terrorism,” he continued.

It’s up to the Turkish government and turkish parliament, to decide on the issue.