Austria will not follow in Finland and Sweden's footsteps for NATO
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Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer declared that Austria will not be seeking to get NATO membership.
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Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced on Monday that Austria has no ambitions to join NATO after Sweden and Finland. Following a meeting with the prime minister of Slovakia, Eduard Heger, the official made this declaration at a press conference in Vienna, according to the Slovak daily Pravda.
Nehammer reportedly told the media that Vienna has no plans to emulate Sweden and Finland, who have decided to join NATO after rethinking their military neutrality in the wake of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
The chancellor said that there is "no such rhetoric in Austria," adding that his country has been committed to the EU's joint security policy and plans to increase its investment in domestic defense capabilities. In response, Heger noted that Slovakia, just like other countries of the West, is providing assistance to Ukraine.
Earlier today, Ankara warned that it might stall the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO if its demands are not met by Sweden.
Previously, in May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed determination to block Sweden and Finland's application to enter NATO, calling Sweden a "complete terror haven."
On June 15, Turkey rejected NATO's offer to hold trilateral talks with Finland and Sweden. On July 10, Sweden made a list of 10 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members to extradite to Turkey following the signature of a memorandum in Madrid, Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber reported on Sunday.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said earlier that week that Ankara had sent a written request to Finland and Sweden to extradite members of the PKK and the organization of the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen (FETO) that Turkey deems terrorist.
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