Finland will not join NATO without Sweden: Finnish President

Amid Turkish objection to Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, stated Sunday that his country will not be joining NATO without Swedish accession as well.

Niinistö said in a statement that "We [Finland and Sweden] go hand in hand,” adding, “In Sweden, they say the Finnish issue is our business, and in the same way, the Swedish issue is our business and the means we go forward, hand in hand.”

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at Finnish President Sauli Niinisto’s summer residence in Kultaranta, that he remains “in close contact with you and with our colleagues in Sweden and with our ally Turkey on the way ahead." Turkey’s concerns have been described as “legitimate” by Stoltenberg. 

The majority of Turkish people oppose the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO over their open support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara designated as terrorists, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier this month.

Moreover, Turkey said it would not back Helsinki and Stockholm because they do not have “a clear unequivocal stance” against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Front, groups that Ankara considers terrorist organizations.