Finland, Sweden submit NATO bids
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Finland and Sweden have formally applied to join NATO, but Turkish objections threaten to derail the alliance’s northern expansion

NORDIC SECURITY: NATO could exercise greater control of Baltic Sea if Finland and Sweden joined 30-nation alliance
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NATO members
Potential members 
Key military bases: Naval  Air

ATLANTIC OCEAN
NORWAY 
DENMARK
North Sea
Murmansk
SWEDEN
FINLAND
ESTONIA 
LATVIA
GERMANY
LITHUANIA 
BELARUS
Baltic Sea
POLAND
Gotland (SWE)
RUSSIA Moscow
St. Petersburg

Finnish-Russian border stretches 1,340km

200km 125 miles
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TURKISH OPPOSITION TO NATO EXPANSION
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Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) has accused two Nordic countries of backing Kurdish militants that Ankara considers terrorists
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Sanctions: Turkey wants lifting of all Finnish and Swedish arms export bans – placed on Ankara in 2019 after its incursion into Syria
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Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters Picture: Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS


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