Finland

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revealed that he would no longer uphold his opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO following crunch talks with the leaders of the two Nordic countries in Madrid.

Africa Daily News, New York recalls that Erdogan had deliberately refused to green-light the applications from the Nordic pair — lodged in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine — despite calls from his NATO allies to clear the path for them to enter.

Turkey could essentially veto Finland and Sweden from joining NATO since all members must agree to taking on new members.

However, …

Finland and Sweden have made open announcements that they would be submitting their bids to join NATO together on Wednesday despite Turkey’s threat to block the military alliance’s expansion.

“I’m happy we have taken the same path and we can do it together,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Tuesday during a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.

Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border with Russia, and Sweden have been rattled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Their applications will jettison decades of military non-alignment to join the alliance as a defence against feared aggression from Russia.

Russian …

Finland on Saturday made moves to allay Moscow’s fears about its bid to join NATO, as fierce fighting raged in Ukraine’s east which slowed Russia’s advance.

Wives and parents of Ukrainian fighters trapped in the bowels of a besieged steel plant in the country’s south meanwhile made a desperate appeal to China to help secure their release.

And the wealthy countries of the G7 vowed to further turn the screw on the Kremlin with fresh sanctions, pledging never to recognise the borders it is attempting to redraw through destructive force.

One of Europe’s fiercest conflicts since World War II …