Turkey blocked start of NATO talks on Sweden, Finland accession – Reports

Moscow: Turkey has blocked the start of consideration of the application for accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, the Financial Times reported citing an informed source.

NATO ambassadors met on Wednesday to begin admission talks on the same day Finland and Sweden filed their bids, but Ankara’s obstruction halted any vote, the newspaper said.

It noted that this called into question the ability of NATO to agree on the first stage of the application of the two countries within one to two weeks.

All 30 NATO member countries must ratify the applications of Finland and Sweden, but the process can only begin when the alliance issues a protocol of acceptance and formally invites these countries to join NATO.