Helsinki. October 6. INTERFAX - Finland and Sweden will continue their simultaneous progress towards NATO, despite possible opposition from Turkey, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen said.
"When we started the NATO project with our close partner Sweden, we moved forward along this path together. We have no other plans. We strive to do the work together to the end, as planned from the very beginning," Kaikkonen said in an interview with Yle on Thursday.
Commenting on the proposal made in the media by the director of the Finnish Foreign Policy Institute Mika Aaltola that "it would be nice for Finland to think about how it would react to the situation when Turkey agrees to accept Finland as a member of NATO, but not Sweden," the head of the defense department said that "the simultaneous membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO has a special significance for national defense".
Turkey, among other things, insists that Sweden and Finland change their position regarding the Kurdish paramilitary groups, which Ankara considers terrorist groups. Ankara also insists on the extradition of a number of Kurdish figures from Sweden and Finland.
Kaikkonen also said that various options are currently being considered for the possible presence of NATO structures in Finland after the country's accession to the alliance.
"Membership in NATO does not oblige Finland to deploy nuclear weapons, permanent bases or troops on its territory," he said.
The Minister acknowledged that Finland, as a NATO member, must agree that nuclear weapons are part of the defense and deterrence of the military alliance. However, he believes that "nuclear weapons are unlikely to be deployed on Finnish soil."
"At the moment, the most important thing would be to finish joining NATO itself," the Defense Minister added.
