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Ankara expresses reservations about Finnish, Swedish NATO membership

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The United States and NATO say they are confident that Turkey will not impede the membership of Finland or Sweden in their military alliance, despite Ankara,Turkey’s capitol and seat of government, expressing reservations about it.

In a move that could cause major tensions with one of its neighbors, Turkey has set out demands for NATO member countries to end support and sales of arms in retaliation over the current situation with Kurdish groups on their territory.

The foreign minister has said that his talks with Swedish and Finnish counterparts in Berlin have been helpful. They pitched possible solutions to address Turkey’s concerns, which will be considered by Ankara.

“We have photos and videos of the terrorists that you sent us,” said Cavusoglu. “I can even provide proof they are on our territory.”

He said that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK as it’s known internationally has been holding meetings in Sweden over recent days. The group is considered by many countries to be a “terrorist” organization but still manages somehow maintain contact with other prominent political parties from around Europe through these secret negotiations.

However, he said that Turkey did not object to the alliance’s policy of open doors. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg believes they will be able to address any concerns expressed by Ankara without delaying membership status in regards for application processing timeframes as well as additional protocols needed before becoming an active member state with all rights accorded accordingly.

The United States’ Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has refused to go into detail after closed-door conversations on this issue but echoes NATO’s position that it is “a place for dialogue”.

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Finland and Sweden have taken a step in joining NATO to show they are not afraid of Russia’s invasion. This decision breaks away from tradition, which has been non-aligned for many years now but it also means that these two countries may need protection more than ever before.

The Finnish president has confirmed that his country will be applying for membership in the European Union. Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats announced an official policy change. Swedish Foreign Minister Linde announced that her country will be applying for membership in NATO, an organization which has meant peace and security across Europe since 1955. The decision comes following years of deteriorating relations with Russia due to their incursion into Ukraine.

The pressure on Turkey to allow Finland and Sweden into NATO has been immense. With these new members, the alliance would be stronger in the Baltic Sea – which could potentially lead more countries into membership.

If all goes well, approval could come in just a matter of weeks. However, ratification by allied parliaments may take up to one year so it is important for Turkey’s objections not to be insurmountable.

In response to the prospect of joining NATO, Russia has threatened military-technical measures including unspecified “military threats”. However speaking on Saturday Prime Minister Juha Sipilneni said their conversation was measured and did not contain any threatening language or behavior from either side during the discussion over potential actions in the coming days following recent developments involving both countries’ troops near borders with Scandinavia.

In an interview with CNN, President Putin confirmed that he thinks it’s a mistake for Russia to have invaded eastern Ukraine.

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