Turkish official gives June date for Nordic NATO expansion
By ANDREW WILKS
Associated Press
ISTANBUL (AP) — A senior Turkish official says Sweden and Finland are unlikely to be able to join NATO before June. A spokesman and foreign policy adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Sweden and Finland believe that the new laws will be fully effective and completed by June. The Nordic states applied to join the defense alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But their membership must be approved by all 30 NATO states. Only Turkey and Hungary have yet to approve the deal. Ankara linked accession to stricter counterterrorism measures.