Delay to Nato expansion harms security, says Finland minister

A delay by Turkey in ratifying Nato membership bids from Finland and Sweden would harm security in the Baltic region at a time of heightened Russian aggression, the Finnish foreign minister has said.

The three countries struck a deal in June intended to seal Ankara’s backing but Turkey, along with Hungary, has still not ratified Finland and Sweden’s accession, while Nato’s 28 other members have done so.

Speaking during a visit to London, Pekka Haavisto warned Europe’s security was “fragile” as Russian president Vladimir Putin escalates his war in Ukraine. Haavisto also singled out the explosion of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

“In these security conditions any delay in strengthening security in the Baltic Sea is of course a concern,” he said.

“We have underlined both to Hungary and Turkey that we are living in turbulent times security wise, and the sooner we are also covered by Nato Article Five [mutual defence clause] and can contribute to Nato defence from our defence side, the better in the circumstances.”

“In these circumstances when you delay the decisions you have to take into account that it has certain effects on the current security situation in the applicant countries and in the whole region, probably, when we talk about the Baltic Sea routes and so forth.”

Finland and Sweden abandoned decades of neutrality and applied to join Nato in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — a momentous decision which the alliance celebrated as rebuff to Putin, who has demanded an end to Nato enlargement.

But Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatened to veto their accession, accusing the two countries of acting as havens for terrorists. Ankara blocked their applications for six weeks until it obtained assurances from Sweden and Finland about acting against terrorists. Turkey then demanded that Stockholm extradite 73 people Ankara accuses of terrorism — although this was not specified in the three-way agreement.

Finland and Sweden co-ordinated their decisions on Nato membership from the outset and applied in tandem. Haavisto said Helsinki would not join without its neighbour because it would complicate Nato defence planning and bilateral military co-operation, including on air and naval defences.

“Some of President Erdoğan’s latest comments have included the idea that the Finland and Sweden will be done separately and that of course it’s not welcomed by us. It’s not welcomed by Sweden,” Haavisto said

“It wouldn’t be a good for our national security and it will be also be a bad solution for Nato.”

Finland also needs Hungary’s approval but has been a strong critic of its backtracking on democratic standards of the rule of law under prime minister Viktor Orbán.

Haavisto said Budapest had so far made no connection between Finland’s Nato application and its support for an EU clampdown on Hungary’s rule of law breaches.