Haavisto: Widespread frustration in Nato over delay in Finland, Sweden accession

As Turkey and Hungary are yet to ratify the Finnish and Swedish applications, a former Deputy Secretary General has suggested that the Nordic nations could still receive security guarantees in the interim.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto (Green) told Yle’s A-studio current affairs programme on Tuesday evening that he has “reservations” about the idea of Finland and Sweden receiving separate security guarantees from the Nato member states that have already ratified the two Nordic countries’ membership applications.

“If you think about it, it’s a bit like having a ‘Nato B’. That there would be a Nato A division and then a Nato B division,” Haavisto said.

So far, 28 of Nato’s 30 current members have given a green light to the Finnish and Swedish applications, with Turkey and Hungary the only countries yet to do so.

In an interview with the Lännen Media newspaper group, Nato’s former Deputy Assistant Secretary-General Stephanie Babst suggested that the 28 countries that have ratified Finland’s and Sweden’s membership could offer Article 5 guarantees, even though the accession process is still ongoing.

Article 5 of the alliance’s founding document states that any attack on a Nato member in Europe or North America “shall be considered an attack against them all.”

“Of course, you can consider all possibilities, but I don’t think it’s really helpful in this situation. Now it is important to put pressure on Turkey, so that Turkey and Hungary ratify the applications,” Haavisto said during the A-studio interview.

He added that such “creative thinking” — as Babst’s suggestion — indicates that Nato and other member states are becoming frustrated at the delay in the ratification process.

“We have been in contact with a great many Nato countries, who tell us all the time that they are doing everything they can behind the scenes,” Haavisto said.

However, he further noted that he does not think the issue will be raised before next summer’s Nato summit.

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