UK To Work Closely With Turkey For Sweden's Prompt Accession To NATO - UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace

The United Kingdom welcomes Turkey's decision to ratify Finland's accession to NATO and will be working closely with Ankara to ensure that Sweden is also accepted to the alliance as soon as possible, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2023) The United Kingdom welcomes Turkey's decision to ratify Finland's accession to NATO and will be working closely with Ankara to ensure that Sweden is also accepted to the alliance as soon as possible, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday.

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Turkish parliament started the ratification process of Finland's NATO membership. As for the Swedish application, Ankara is still not ready to give its approval, Erdogan said.

"Turkey's decision to ratify Finland's accession to NATO is welcome news," Wallace said on Twitter, adding "I shall be working closely with Turkey to ensure Sweden is also accepted as soon as possible. In the meantime, the UK will stand shoulder to shoulder with Sweden against any Russian intimidation.

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Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in May 2022 after Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. By the end of 2022, 28 out of 30 NATO member states ratified their applications, except for Hungary and Turkey. Ankara was delaying its approval due to the relations between the two applicants and organizations affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which Turkey views as extremist.

A new round of tensions followed in January, when a far-right activist burnt a copy of Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. The demonstration was condemned by Ankara, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that Turkey could not support Sweden's bid after that.