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HELSINKI (AP) — The Finnish president stated in an interview revealed Saturday that he trusts that Finland and Sweden will probably be admitted into NATO by July, and hinted that he desires the US to place stress on Turkey to approve their membership bids.

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If the difficulty drags on, your entire strategy of admitting new members into the navy alliance will change into questionable, President Sauli Niinistö stated in an interview with the Finnish information company STT.

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“If it doesn’t occur by the Vilnius assembly, why ought to it occur afterwards?” Niinistö stated.

Lithuania is ready to host a NATO summit within the Baltic nation’s capital on July 11-12.

NATO requires unanimous approval from its present members to confess new ones. Turkey and Hungary are the one nations within the 30-member navy alliance that haven’t formally endorsed Sweden and Finland’s accession.

Whereas Hungary has pledged to take action in February, Turkey hasn’t indicated willingness to ratify the 2 international locations’ accession any time quickly. Niinistö careworn that the ultimate Turkish resolution is as much as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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“I feel that by no means will he permit himself to be influenced by any public stress,” Niinistö stated. ” But when one thing opens up in the course of the bilateral talks between Turkey and the US, it’d have an effect.”

Turkey has been holding off approving Sweden and Finland’s membership into NATO because it has been infuriated, amongst different issues, by a current collection of demonstrations in Stockholm by activists who’ve burned the Quran outdoors the Turkish Embassy and hanged an effigy of Erdogan.

In January, Ankara indefinitely postponed a key assembly in Brussels that might have mentioned the 2 Nordic international locations’ entry into NATO.

Niinistö stated that Finland and Sweden heard many encouraging statements from NATO final spring — the Nordic duo had said their intention to affix NATO in Might — about easy and painless progress of membership.

He stated that didn’t occur, including that the delay isn’t solely a headache for the 2 applicant international locations.

“I can see that this has already change into an issue for NATO. Clearly, NATO international locations have additionally been shocked,” Niinistö stated.