The US is in favour of Sweden and Finland joining the NATO alliance at the same time, Derek Chollet, US State Department Counsellor and Advisor to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said on Thursday.
While impatience regarding the progress of Finland’s NATO accession has started to grow among some politicians, and some have started to wonder whether Finland should go ahead without Sweden, the political leadership has assured that the two will walk the accession path together.
The US, represented by Chollet, has already commented on the debate in Finland.
It would be “in the interest of NATO both politically and defensively” if Finland and Sweden would join the military alliance at the same time,” Chollet told the Finnish News Agency (STT) on Thursday.
Interpreted as a positive sign from the US regarding Finnish NATO membership was the news that the US Senate may greenlight the selling of fighter jets to Turkey.
Turkey has long requested modern US-made fighter jets to modernise its fleet. The day after Turkey dropped its opposition to Sweden and NATO joining the alliance, Washington signalled it would be willing to sell upgraded F-16 jets to Turkey.
The possible sale of fighter jets may positively affect Finland’s NATO membership path, Toni Alaranta, a senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), told Iltalehti.
Source : EURA CTIV