Space Travel News
SUPERPOWERS
Turkey becomes last NATO nation to ratify Finland membership
Turkey becomes last NATO nation to ratify Finland membership
By Burcin GERCEK
Ankara (AFP) March 30, 2023

Turkey on Thursday became the final NATO nation to ratify Finland's membership of the US-led defence alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Lawmakers unanimously backed the Nordic country's accession two weeks after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly blessed the bid.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the ratification, saying on Twitter it would "make the whole NATO family stronger and safer."

Turkey's approval leaves Finland -- which has a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border with Russia -- with only a few technical steps before it becomes the 31st member of the world's most powerful military bloc.

Officials expect the process to be completed as early as next week.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto thanked NATO's member states for "their trust and support."

"Finland will be a strong and capable ally, committed to the security of the alliance," he said in a statement released on Twitter.

Finland and its neighbour Sweden ended decades of military nonalignment and decided to join NATO last May.

Their applications were accepted at a June alliance summit that was designed to show the Western world's desire to stand up to Russia in the face of Europe's most grave conflict since World War II.

But the bids still needed to be ratified by all the members' parliaments -- a process that stalled with Turkey and Hungary.

- 'Ample grievances' -

Erdogan put up stiff resistance to Sweden's candidacy because of a series of long-standing disputes.

He first signaled his more supportive stance on Finland's membership in January -- a position that forced the Nordic neighbours to bow to the diplomatic pressure and break up their bids so that both applications were not delayed.

The Hungarian parliament ratified Finland's NATO membership on Monday. It was expected to approve Sweden's accession during the current session ending June 15.

But a spokesman for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday called on Sweden to "clear the air" and address "an ample amount of grievances" for the vote to go ahead.

Sweden has upset Orban -- one of Europe's closest allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin -- by expressing alarm over the rule of law in Hungary.

It has also angered Turkey by refusing to extradite dozens of suspects that Erdogan links to a failed 2016 coup attempt and a decades-long Kurdish fight for an independent state.

Stockholm still hopes to join the alliance in time for a July summit in Vilnius.

Most analysts believe that Turkey will only vote on Sweden's candidacy after the country's May general election.

- 'Legitimate target' -

NATO was created as a counterweight to the Soviet Union at the onset of the Cold War era that began immediately after the Allies defeated Nazi Germany.

The bloc has gone through waves of expansion that brought it ever closer to Russia's borders.

NATO's reach into east and south European countries that were once under Moscow's effective control infuriated the Kremlin and created growing strains in its relations with Washington.

Putin cited the threat of NATO expanding into Ukraine as one of his main reasons for launching the war 13 months ago.

But the conflict has had the opposite geopolitical effect from the one envisioned by Putin.

Ukraine is now receiving tanks and other heavy weapons from NATO members that it hopes to use in a new counteroffensive planned for the coming weeks or months.

Finland never seriously discussed NATO membership until Putin went to war.

The Kremlin at first appeared to play down the significance of the bloc reaching a new stretch of Russia's northwestern frontier.

But Russia has stepped up its diplomatic rhetoric in recent weeks.

Stockholm this week summoned the Russian ambassador after he said Sweden and Finland would become a "legitimate target" of "retaliatory measures" -- including military ones -- if they join NATO.

Putin last weekend also announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SUPERPOWERS
Saudi agrees to partner with China-led security bloc
Riyadh (AFP) March 29, 2023
Saudi Arabia has agreed to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a "dialogue partner", state media reported on Wednesday, the latest indication of closer political ties with China. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in 2001 as a political, economic and security organisation to rival Western institutions. Besides China, its eight members include India, Pakistan and Russia, as well as four central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. ... read more

SUPERPOWERS
SUPERPOWERS
A tour of Jezero Crater

The race is on for Ingenuity and Perseverance to stay the distance

Sols 3780-3782: Perfect 10

Spring Past the Marker Band: Sols 3776-3777

SUPERPOWERS
SwRI-developed instrument delivered for lunar lander mission

The science of Moon hopping

Scientists find water inside glass beads on the Moon

NASA seeks student solutions for managing Moon landing dust cloud

SUPERPOWERS
Hubble monitors changing weather and seasons at Jupiter and Uranus

An explaination for unusual radar signatures in the outer solar system

New Horizons team discusses discoveries from the Kuiper Belt

New Horizons team adds AI to Kuiper Belt Object search

SUPERPOWERS
JWST confirms giant planet atmospheres vary widely

Small stars may host bigger planets than previously thought

Webb measures temperature of rocky exoplanet for first time

Researchers detect silicate clouds, methane, water, carbon monoxide on distant planet

SUPERPOWERS
Space X sets Saturday launch date for Space Force satellites after second delay

Leaky Russian space capsule lands safely in Kazakhstan

Firefly Aerospace completes risk reduction testing for critical Miranda engine

Certified and Ready for Rocket-Powered Flight

SUPERPOWERS
China's Shenzhou-15 astronauts to return in June

China's space technology institute sees launches of 400 spacecraft

Shenzhou XV crew takes second spacewalk

China conducts ignition test in Mengtian space lab module

SUPERPOWERS
Two meteorites are providing a detailed look into outer space

NASA prepares for historic asteroid sample delivery on Sept 24

Large asteroid to zoom between Earth and Moon

First results from ESO telescopes on the aftermath of DART's asteroid impact

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.