Defense minister: Finland could join NATO ahead of Sweden

By KARL RITTER
Associated Press

MUNICH (AP) — Finland’s defense minister says his country will join NATO without waiting for Sweden if its Nordic neighbor’s accession is held up by the Turkish government. Mikko Savola told The Associated Press on Saturday that Finland prefers to join the alliance together with Sweden but wouldn’t hold up the process if Turkey decides to approve Finland but not Sweden, as it has warned. He spoke on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich. Since they broke with decades of non-alignment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Finland and Sweden have insisted they want to join NATO together.