ANI
25 Jan 2023, 06:07 GMT+10
Washington [US], January 25 (ANI): The United States said on the candidacies of Sweden and Finland for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) that the two Nordic countries are ready and should be added to the world's strongest defense alliance at the earliest possible opportunity.
Addressing a press briefing on Tuesday, the US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that the US has been very clear about its views on Finland and Sweden's candidacies for NATO membership in public, as well as in private.
"The issue of Sweden and Finland is not a bilateral issue. We have been very clear in public, and we have been very clear in private about our views on Finland and Sweden's candidacies for NATO membership. We believe they are ready, we believe they should be added to the world's strongest defense alliance at the earliest possible opportunity," he said.
Responding to a media query on Finland and Sweden returning to functional dialogue on NATO membership, the US State Department Spokesperson said that the US will continue to voice its support for the candidature of the two Nordic countries.
"We can continue to voice our support for their candidacies. We can continue to engage in public and in private with Turkey and make it clear that we believe that these two countries are ready. That they are prepared, that they should be admitted to the alliance at any possible opportunity," Price added.
Sweden and Finland have been jointly applying to join NATO, but Turkey has so far blocked the expansion, citing concerns that Sweden needs to crack down on exiled Kurdish militants and their sympathizers and extradite critics of Turkish President Erdogan, reported Euronews.
The joint bid by Sweden and Finland to join NATO requires the approval of all existing members, including Turkey. Until now, the two countries have been committed to joining the alliance together.
Furthermore, the US State Department Spokesperson also spoke at length on the issue of the burning of the Quran in Stockholm, Sweden.
Describing the incident as reprehensible and disgusting, the US State Department Spokesperson said that no one in this administration is voicing any degree of support for this vile action that took place.
Calling Sweden a 'vibrant democracy', he further added, "The reason something like this could happen precisely because Sweden upholds freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and when you provide people with those freedoms, you safeguard those freedoms, sometimes they make terrible decisions. They do awful things."On Tuesday, the Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto indicated that Finland may have to join NATO without Sweden after Ankara cast doubts on the expansion of the alliance over anti-Turkey protests in Stockholm.
The joint bid by Sweden and Finland to join NATO requires the approval of all existing members, including Turkey. Until now, the two countries have been committed to joining the alliance together, but Haavisto's comment suggests that this may no longer be the case.
The statement follows a recent Quran-burning protest in Stockholm, which resulted in Turkey ruling out support for Sweden's bid to join the military alliance. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom has stated that "we are in contact with Finland to find out what is really meant."Notably, the Danish-Swedish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan set fire to a duplicate of the Muslim holy e-book on Saturday at the entrance of Turkey's embassy within the Swedish capital, angering Ankara and Muslim international locations around the globe.
Haavisto mentioned the anti-Turkey protests had "clearly put a brake on the progress" of the purposes by Finland and Sweden to hitch the trans-Atlantic army alliance. (ANI)Get a daily dose of Irish Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Irish Sun.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: A Delta Air Lines plane's wing hit the runway at LaGuardia Airport during a rough landing over the weekend....
AUSTIN/SANTA FE: Measles cases in Texas and New Mexico increased to 317 on March 18, up from 294 four days earlier, as the U.S. faces...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration is considering strict new travel restrictions for citizens of dozens of countries, according...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration announced this week that Maine's education officials violated federal law by allowing transgender...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Severe storms and tornadoes continued to threaten parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and several Mid-Atlantic...
As Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday heralding a new ground invasion, a UN building was destroyed in a bombing, killing one...
BERLIN, Germany: Audi has announced plans to cut up to 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029 as part of a broader restructuring aimed at reducing...
FRANKFURT, Germany: UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti will receive a pay package of just over 15 million Swiss francs (US$17 million) for 2024,...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Dublin came alive with energy and color as thousands lined the streets to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, soaking in...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Authorities in two border counties have spent over 1.6 million euros in the past five years cleaning up toxic waste...
DUBLIN, Ireland: The need to reduce regulatory burdens in the European Union is finally being acknowledged, according to Ireland's...
BERLIN, Germany: German Lawmakers are debating whether to loosen the country's strict borrowing rules to fund military expansion. ...