Swedish PM says probability Finland joins NATO before Sweden has increased

FILE PHOTO: Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attend a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden March 7, 2023. Jonas Ekstromer/TT News Agency/via REUTERS

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday that the likelihood that Finland joins the NATO military alliance before Sweden had increased, though Swedish membership was only a matter of time.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year but have faced objections from Turkey which says the two countries harbour members of what it considers terrorist groups. The countries resumed talks on the process in Brussels last week.