The foreign and defense ministers of the European Union will discuss at a regular meeting today, Tuesday in Brussels, the developments of Russia's war on Ukraine, amid an escalating debate over Finland's and Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after Turkey's reservations about the move.
The European ministers are scheduled to exchange views with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, who is joining the meeting via video technology.
The three Nordic countries that are members of NATO, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, have announced that they will provide Sweden and Finland with security insurance.
Norway's foreign minister said Sweden's and Finland's membership in NATO strengthens the Nordic defense and security policy.
"We want to ensure a speedy admission process for Sweden and Finland to NATO and support them in the transitional period," she added.
For her part, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that her country will submit a formal application to join NATO, ending two centuries of neutrality, noting that her country's ambassador to NATO will submit this request soon.
Al-Jazeera correspondent had reported that the Swedish Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs signed the request to join NATO, while the Finnish Parliament began a discussion of a document submitted by the Parliament's Political Committee on the issue of joining NATO.
Russia warns
On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of two diplomats from Finland's mission to Moscow, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that his country had warned against the expansion of NATO to the east, stressing that the end would not be good for anyone.
At the same time, Lavrov indicated that the accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance would not constitute a big difference, as the two countries - according to his description - have long participated in maneuvers with the alliance.
European call for a solution to Turkey's reservations
On the other hand, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, expressed his hope that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would be able to find a solution to Turkey's objections and reservations regarding the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO.
And Borrell said - in a statement before his participation in the meeting of defense ministers of the European Union today, Tuesday - that the ministers will provide the necessary support for the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO.
He added that EU defense ministers will also discuss the latest developments in Ukraine.
Earlier today, Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde signed a document requesting her country's accession to NATO.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that Linde and her Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto will visit Turkey to discuss the issue of their countries' accession to NATO.
Last Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his country's reservations about the process of Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO.
President Erdogan said that Sweden and Finland do not show an explicit stance against terrorist organizations, and Ankara cannot accept their accession to NATO at this stage.
Regarding the planned visit of two delegations from Finland and Sweden to Ankara, President Erdogan said that there is no need for this visit if it is aimed at persuading Turkey to accept the two countries' accession to NATO.