NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has refused to rule out the possibility that Sweden and Finland's applications to join the alliance might be ratified at different times.
"The main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together," Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels on Tuesday. "The main question is that they both become full members as soon as possible. And I'm confident that both will be full members... we are working hard to get both ratified as soon as possible."
Finland and Sweden simultaneously applied to join the alliance in May last year – just three months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine – thereby abandoning both countries' long-held policies of neutrality. Their accession talks were subsequently concluded in early July.
Thus far, their membership bids have been ratified by 28 of NATO's 30 Member State Parliaments, with only Hungary and Turkey not yet approving the applications.
United we join
Ever since launching their bids, Finnish and Swedish leaders have repeatedly emphasised the importance of both countries' applications being approved simultaneously, despite the fact that Sweden's bid in particular risks being delayed by Turkey over concerns about Stockholm's alleged support for Kurdish militants.
"For us, it's very important that Finland and Sweden join NATO simultaneously," Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in October, standing alongside her Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson.
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Finland's desire to join NATO alongside Sweden was reiterated at the end of January after Sweden further angered Ankara by authorising a protest in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, during which a Koran was burned.
"Our strong wish is still to join NATO together with Sweden," said Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto. "We have made it clear to all our future NATO partners that Finnish and Swedish security go together."
Tired of waiting
Recent polling has suggested that Finland's leaders might be pushed by the citizens to move ahead with accession without waiting for Sweden. A survey published earlier this month found that 53% of Finns are against the idea of waiting for Sweden before joining NATO; a mere 28% are in favour of becoming a member at the same time as its neighbour.
Moreover, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has explicitly flirted with the idea of ratifying Finland's and Sweden's membership bids at different times: "If needed, we could give a different message about Finland," Erdogan said last month. "Sweden will be shocked when we give the different message about Finland."
