Sweden And Nato

After two-year wait, Sweden joins NATO in shadow of Ukraine war

Sweden's accession to NATO adds a final puzzle piece to the alliance around the shores of the strategically important Baltic Sea - but Russia still poses a threat above and below water.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his US counterpart Antony Blinken in a call on Wednesday that Turkey expected the United States to act in line with their NATO alliance and keep its promises on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.

Finland has temporarily closed all but one of its eight passenger crossings to Russia in response to an unusually high inflow of migrants for which the Nordic country accuses Moscow.

A Turkish parliament commission is set to debate and likely approve Sweden's NATO membership bid on Thursday, in the latest step toward expanding the Western bloc after 18 months of delays that frustrated some allies and extracted some concessions.

NATO leaders meet in Lithuania on Tuesday for a summit set to be dominated by the alliance's response to Russia's war on Ukraine and Kyiv's push for membership.

Sweden awaits entry into NATO as Turkish President rebuffs growing international pressure on Ankara to accept Sweden's membership bid before the Western defence alliance led by US, meets in July.

Last year, the Kremlin's all-out invasion of Ukraine upended Europe's security landscape and prompted Finland -- and its neighbour Sweden -- to drop decades of non-alignment.

Finland still hopes to join NATO together with Sweden, Finland's foreign minister said Monday, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks that Ankara could accept Helsinki's bid without its Nordic neighbour.

Swedish and Finnish hopes of quickly joining NATO have run into an obstacle in the form of objections by Turkey, which holds veto powers over accession to the military alliance.

The Biden administration on Tuesday reiterated its support for both Finland and Sweden joining NATO at the earliest opportunity, after Helsinki said a pause was needed in trilateral talks with Turkey.

The U.S. State Department on Monday said Finland and Sweden are ready to join the NATO alliance.

Sweden and Finland must deport or extradite up to 130 "terrorists" to Turkey before the Turkish parliament will approve their bids to join NATO, President Tayyip Erdogan said.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed US ratification of bids by Finland and Sweden to enter NATO, taking expansion of the Western alliance in response to Russia's Ukraine invasion one step closer.

The US Senate ratified the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO Wednesday, strongly backing the expansion of the transatlantic alliance in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

After two-year wait, Sweden joins NATO in shadow of Ukraine war

Sweden's accession to NATO adds a final puzzle piece to the alliance around the shores of the strategically important Baltic Sea - but Russia still poses a threat above and below water.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his US counterpart Antony Blinken in a call on Wednesday that Turkey expected the United States to act in line with their NATO alliance and keep its promises on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.

Finland has temporarily closed all but one of its eight passenger crossings to Russia in response to an unusually high inflow of migrants for which the Nordic country accuses Moscow.

A Turkish parliament commission is set to debate and likely approve Sweden's NATO membership bid on Thursday, in the latest step toward expanding the Western bloc after 18 months of delays that frustrated some allies and extracted some concessions.

NATO leaders meet in Lithuania on Tuesday for a summit set to be dominated by the alliance's response to Russia's war on Ukraine and Kyiv's push for membership.

Sweden awaits entry into NATO as Turkish President rebuffs growing international pressure on Ankara to accept Sweden's membership bid before the Western defence alliance led by US, meets in July.

Last year, the Kremlin's all-out invasion of Ukraine upended Europe's security landscape and prompted Finland -- and its neighbour Sweden -- to drop decades of non-alignment.

Finland still hopes to join NATO together with Sweden, Finland's foreign minister said Monday, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks that Ankara could accept Helsinki's bid without its Nordic neighbour.

Swedish and Finnish hopes of quickly joining NATO have run into an obstacle in the form of objections by Turkey, which holds veto powers over accession to the military alliance.

The Biden administration on Tuesday reiterated its support for both Finland and Sweden joining NATO at the earliest opportunity, after Helsinki said a pause was needed in trilateral talks with Turkey.

The U.S. State Department on Monday said Finland and Sweden are ready to join the NATO alliance.

Sweden and Finland must deport or extradite up to 130 "terrorists" to Turkey before the Turkish parliament will approve their bids to join NATO, President Tayyip Erdogan said.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed US ratification of bids by Finland and Sweden to enter NATO, taking expansion of the Western alliance in response to Russia's Ukraine invasion one step closer.

The US Senate ratified the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO Wednesday, strongly backing the expansion of the transatlantic alliance in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.