WASHINGTON DC, United States - Netherlands’ Prime Minister on Tuesday told Rudaw that he was afraid it was not possible for Sweden and Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) yet. Speaking to Rudaw's Diyar Kurda on the sidelines of a conversation hosted by the Atlantic Council at Georgetown University in Washington DC, Dutch PM Mark Rutte said he was "hopeful" that the two Nordic countries will join but "I am afraid it is not possible yet because of some reasons." He added that "in the next couple of months" it may happen. Rutte joined the Atlantic Council during his visit to the United States on Tuesday to share his "perspective on Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, the future of the transatlantic alliance and how to maintain unity in the face of mounting global challenges," according to a statement from the Atlantic Alliance. Sweden and Finland submitted their applications to join NATO in May following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but their bid was hindered by Ankara which accused the two countries of being a haven for groups and individuals that the Turkish state considers “terrorists.” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said last week that Turkey was asking for things Sweden “cannot” provide in return for supporting the Nordic country’s bid to join NATO, but remained confident that Ankara would approve their application. "Turkey has confirmed that we have done what we said we would do, but it also says that it wants things that we cannot, that we do not want to, give it. Now the decision rests with Turkey," the Swedish premier was cited by Swedish broadcaster SVT as saying during a security conference in Salen. Kristersson added that he was convinced that Ankara would support Stockholm’s bid to join the US-led military alliance, but stressed that it was not possible to determine when that would be. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto reiterated his country’s commitment to Sweden in their NATO bid, saying that Helsinki will not join the alliance without Stockholm. “We submitted the NATO membership application together, we will also complete the process together,” said Haavisto. Turkey, Sweden, and Finland signed a trilateral memorandum in Madrid in June, under which the Nordic countries would “address” Turkey’s extradition requests and establish a legal framework for facilitating the process once Turkey has provided evidence of their “terror” background.
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