The Finnish correspondent: "A significant turnaround"

On Tuesday morning, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said that Finland is open to joining NATO without Sweden.

Later in the day, at a press conference, Haavisto pointed out that the main plan is still for both countries to join together. 

Follows developments in Sweden

The reason for Haavisto's changed tone, points out SVT's Finland correspondent Liselott Lindström, is Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan's statement on Monday that Sweden cannot expect Turkey's support in the NATO process.

In Finland, many have followed what is going on in Sweden with some horror.

- You realize that there are people who want to sabotage the NATO application and that it has political consequences because you realize that Erdogan takes advantage of every opportunity he gets, says Liselott Lindström.

- At the same time, there has not been the same need to provoke Turkey, partly because there is not such a large Kurdish population in Finland.

Those questions have not been on the screen as much.

An existential question for Finland

It also speaks for a reflection of the fact that Sweden and Finland chose to apply for membership for such different reasons.

For Finland it is an existential question and for Sweden it is more ideological, Lindström points out.

- That's why the decision was more difficult for Sweden to make and that's why we also see more resistance in various forms in Sweden right now, she says.

Hear SVT's Finland correspondent Liselott Lindström in the clip above.