by Sweden and Finland have formally submitted their applications to join Nato but Turkey blocked an early move to fast-track the Nordic countries’ requests, demanding they extradite “terrorists” and that the alliance respect its concerns.
The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, accepted the two historically non-aligned Nordic countries’ membership requests, each in a white folder embossed with their national flag, at the US-led defensive alliance’s HQ in Brussels on Wednesday.
“I warmly welcome the requests by Finland and Sweden to join Nato. You are our closest partners,” Stoltenberg told the two countries’ ambassadors, hailing the occasion as “a historic step” and “a good day at a critical time for our safety”.
However, multiple reports cited diplomatic sources as saying Turkey later blocked a vote by Nato ambassadors on opening talks immediately, suggesting the first stage of the accession process may take longer than the two weeks the alliance planned.
Source: theguardian
