Defence Minister: Finland could join NATO before Sweden

He told the Associated Press that Finland would prefer the two countries join the Alliance together, but would not prevent the process if Turkey decides to ratify the application for Finland, but not for Sweden, as it has warned.

No, no. Then we'll join”, Savole said in an interview in the margins of a security conference in Munich.

The parliaments of the 30 members of the military alliance must officially ratify Finland and Sweden's application before they are admitted to the Alliance. Turkey and Hungary are the only two NATO members who have not done so.

Turkey's President, Recep Tayip Erdogan, said in late January that Ankara could accept Finland's membership without Sweden.

Turkey has been a member of the alliance as a veto state and has indefinitely postponed membership talks.

Ankara has refused to ratify these two states' NATO applications, primarily due to Sweden's refusal to extradite dozens of suspects, which Turkey claims are linked to Kurdish fighters and to the failed license of 2016.

Sweden has larger Kurdish diaspora than Finland and has more disagreements with Ankara.

Ankara has also expressed outrage at the Swedish police's decision to allow a protest, where a right-wing extremist burned a copy of the Koran before the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm earlier this month.

Turkey has also expressed outrage over the Swedish judiciary's decision that has not filed charges against a pro-Kurdish group that upside down a mannequin resembling Erdogan in front of a court building in Stockholm.

Sweden is Finland's closest defence ally. In the event of a conflict with Russia, with which Finland shares a 1,300km NATO border, it would need Swedish territory to help Finland defend itself. /rel