HELSINKI (AP) 鈥� Finland鈥檚 foreign minister suggested Tuesday that the country may consider joining NATO without neighboring Sweden if Turkey continues to block their joint bid to enter the military alliance.
Pekka Haavisto later backpedaled, but his comments were the first time a leading government official in either Nordic country appeared to raise doubts about becoming NATO members together at a time when the alliance is seeking to present a united front in the face of .
Sweden and Finland following Moscow's invasion, abandoning their long-standing non-alignment policy. Their accession needs the approval of all existing NATO members, including Turkey, which , saying Sweden in particular needs to crack down on exiled Kurdish militants and their sympathizers.
On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to expect support for its application following weekend protests in Stockholm by an anti-Islam activist and pro-Kurdish groups.
Asked a day later whether it still made sense for Finland to proceed together with the Swedes, Haavisto told broadcaster YLE that his country would have to 鈥渆valuate the situation if it turns out that Sweden鈥檚 application is stalling for a long time to come."
Haavisto later told reporters in Parliament that his comment was 鈥渋mprecise鈥� and that Finland's ambition to enter NATO jointly with Sweden remained unchanged.
He said he had spoken with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who had stressed to Haavisto that the military bloc would like to see the two nations join simultaneously.
鈥淏ut of course there have been raised concerns within NATO on how the (recent) incidents in Sweden will affect the schedule,鈥� Haavisto said.
Until now, Sweden and Finland had been committed to joining the alliance together.
鈥淭his is the first crack in the so far rather impressive unity between Sweden and Finland," said Paul Levin, director of the Institute for Turkish Studies at Stockholm University. 鈥淔inland is currently somewhat of an innocent victim of the continued provocations by Swedish groups critical of NATO accession, protected by the very liberal Swedish freedom of speech laws. If Turkey persists in blocking accession, I suspect that Finland will at some point have to go it alone.鈥�
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstr枚m said Stockholm was 鈥渋n contact with Finland to find out what is really meant." In a statement to The Associated Press, he said Sweden respects the 鈥渁greement between Sweden, Finland and Turkey regarding our NATO membership.鈥�
In a memorandum of understanding signed by the three countries at a NATO summit last year, Sweden and Finland committed not to support Kurdish militant groups and to lift arms embargos on Turkey imposed after its incursion into northern Syria in 2019.
Pro-Kurdish and anti-Turkish demonstrations in Stockholm have complicated the process. On Saturday, a far-right activist from Denmark staged a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm where he burned the Quran, Islam鈥檚 holy book. A separate pro-Kurdish demonstration was held later Saturday in the Swedish capital.
The Swedish government has tried to distance itself from the demonstrations, while insisting that such protests are protected by freedom of speech.
Turkey , canceling a planned visit to Ankara by the Swedish defense minister. Protests were held outside Swedish diplomatic missions in Ankara and Istanbul.
Erdogan slammed Swedish authorities for allowing the Quran-burning demonstration.
鈥淚t is clear that those who allowed such vileness to take place in front of our embassy can no longer expect any charity from us regarding their NATO membership application,鈥� he said.
He also criticized the pro-Kurdish demonstration, accusing Sweden of letting 鈥渢error organizations run wild on your avenues and streets." He said that if Sweden won鈥檛 show respect to Turkey or Muslims, then 鈥渢hey won鈥檛 see any support from us on the NATO issue.鈥�
___ Ritter reported from Stockholm. Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.
Jari Tanner And Karl Ritter, The Associated Press
