Putin warns Finland NATO membership would harm relations

A formal membership application would then be submitted to NATO headquarters in Brussels.Neighboring Sweden is set to decide on its NATO stance on Sunday at a meeting of the governing Social Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.One possible hurdle to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance came from NATO member Turkey, whose president said Friday he was “not favorable” to the idea.Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited support in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries for Kurdish militants — whom Turkey considers to be terrorists.Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Saturday that he had already called his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, “to take the tensions down.”“I’m sure that we will find a solution to this item as well,” he told reporters at the start of an informal NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Berlin late Saturday.U.S. President Joe Biden held a joint call Friday with both Niinisto and Andersson where, according to a White House statement, he “underscored his support for NATO’s Open Door policy and for the right of Finland and Sweden to decide their own future, foreign policy and security arrangements.”___Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.___Follow AP’s coverage of the Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine