DefenceTalkFinnish and Swedish leaders will discuss their stalled NATO bids with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday at the start of an alliance summit in Madrid, Helsinki said on Monday. But Turkey said the four-way meeting, which will also involve NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, did not mean that Ankara was close to lifting its […]https://www.defencetalk.com/finland-sweden-leaders-to-discuss-nato-bid-with-erdogan-79029/

DefenceTalkTurkey on Monday said it did not view next week’s NATO summit as a final deadline for resolving its objections to Finland and Sweden joining the Western defence alliance. The comments from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top foreign policy adviser followed a round of urgent talks in Brussels that NATO leaders had hoped would […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-says-nato-summit-not-the-deadline-for-finland-sweden-talks-78992/

DefenceTalkTurkey said on Wednesday that it was waiting for a “written response” from Sweden and Finland to Ankara’s objections to their NATO bids. “We have transmitted our questions in writing to these two countries,” Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters. “Now we’re waiting for their written responses,” he said. The two Nordic countries reversed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-written-response-finland-sweden-over-nato-78964/

DefenceTalkTurkey’s blockage of Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership bids may not be resolved in time for the alliance’s summit later this month, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday. He said NATO was “working hard” to resolve “legitimate” issues raised by Turkey. Stoltenberg had previously insisted that the two nations would be welcomed “with open arms,” […]https://www.defencetalk.com/stalled-finnish-swedish-nato-bids-may-drag-on-nato-chief-78961/

DefenceTalkTurkey on Wednesday said the NATO accession process for Sweden and Finland would not move forward unless they addressed Ankara’s security concerns, in talks with delegations from both Nordic states. “We conveyed our message in very clear terms that the process will not move forward unless Turkey’s security concerns are addressed through concrete steps and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-threatens-to-stall-nato-process-if-nordic-nations-fail-to-act-78823/

DefenceTalkPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday confirmed Turkey’s opposition to NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, again accusing them of failing to take a clear stance against terrorism. “We will not say ‘yes’ to those (countries) who apply sanctions to Turkey to join security organization NATO,” Erdogan said. Sweden has suspended any arms sales to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-will-not-say-yes-to-nato-membership-for-sweden-finland-erdogan-78789/

DefenceTalkFormer Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned Thursday that Russia would deploy nuclear weapons close to the Baltic States and Scandinavia if Finland or Sweden decide to join NATO. Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s security council and president from 2008 to 2012, wrote on Telegram that if the countries joined, this would more than double Russia’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-would-deploy-nuclear-arms-near-finland-sweden-if-join-nato-78688/

DefenceTalkFinland is preparing for a potentially historic decision “before midsummer” on whether to apply to join NATO as a deterrent against Russian aggression. The Nordic nation of 5.5 million has traditionally been militarily non-aligned, in part to avoid provoking its eastern neighbor, with which it shares a 1,300 kilometer (830 mile) border. But Russia’s invasion […]https://www.defencetalk.com/finland-gears-up-for-historic-nato-decision-78661/

DefenceTalkFinland must brace for Russian interference and hybrid attacks as it weighs whether to join the NATO military alliance, the security services warned on Tuesday. The Nordic nation shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia and has remained militarily non-aligned since the end of World War II to avoid provoking its eastern neighbour. But Russia’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/finlands-spy-service-warns-of-russian-interference-attacks-78530/

DefenceTalkIn a muddy car park in Norway’s Far North, Finnish troops show off their military might, lining up rocket launchers, artillery and snowmobiles as they prepare to train alongside their NATO brothers-in-arms. While Finland and Sweden’s partnership with the Atlantic Alliance is nothing new, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed the two militarily non-aligned nations […]https://www.defencetalk.com/with-war-next-door-finland-sweden-train-with-nato-78504/