Sweden, Finland can count on EU's 'full support' for NATO membership: Official

ANKARA

The European Union's foreign policy chief on Tuesday voiced the bloc's "full support" for Sweden and Finland's NATO membership bid.

"The news of the day is Swedish and Finnish ministers explaining us and updating us about their policy deliberations on NATO membership," Josep Borrell told a news conference after EU's Foreign Affairs Council's meeting on defense in Brussels.

Noting that both Sweden and Finland could "count on the full support of the EU," Borrell said membership to the military alliance would "strengthen and increase the cooperation and the security in Europe.

"So let's hope that this membership will come soon," he added.

The Finnish and Swedish governments are expected to hand over their NATO membership applications on Wednesday. They need unanimous support of NATO’s 30 member states to join the military alliance.

Turkiye, a longstanding NATO member, has voiced its objections to Finland and Sweden’s membership bids, criticizing the two Nordic countries for tolerating and even supporting terror groups like the YPG/PKK and FETO.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people. The YPG is PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

Meanwhile, FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkiye, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.