ANKARA, 5 Feb. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will discuss with the Cabinet on Monday the election calendar and the process of membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO, said a source familiar with the matter.
Against the background of the events in Ukraine last May, Finland and Sweden handed over to the NATO Secretary General applications for joining the alliance. At first, Turkey blocked the process of considering these applications, but already on June 29, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a security memorandum that takes into account all Ankara's concerns. To date, only two countries out of 30 have not ratified the applications of Sweden and Finland to NATO — these are Hungary and Turkey.
«The Cabinet of Ministers will meet tomorrow under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The most important issues on the agenda are the election calendar, the economy and the process of Sweden and Finland joining NATO,» the source said.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström recently said that against the backdrop of actions with the burning of the Koran, the process of the kingdom's accession to NATO was suspended, but expressed the hope that agreements with Ankara could be reached at the summit of the foreign ministries of the alliance countries in Vilnius in July. According to a source in Ankara, the trilateral mechanism for the process of membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO has been suspended for an indefinite period at the request of the Turkish side.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto allowed the continuation of the procedure for ratifying the country's application to the North Atlantic Alliance separately from Sweden, but then took his words back. In turn, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey had not received proposals from Finland on a separate application from Sweden to join NATO.
Incumbent Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier that general elections (both presidential and parliamentary) in the country are scheduled for May 14. The Turkish leader said that the government will propose to the parliament to accept May 14 as the date of general elections in Turkey, and in case of refusal, he will use the powers of the president. Erdogan's powers are enough to dissolve parliament and call early elections 60 days after the decree. Erdogan will be the candidate of the «Union of the Republic» in the upcoming elections. The coalition of six opposition parties has not yet announced a candidate.