Cables From The Diplomatic Frontlines - Reader Q&A on Sweden, Finland and NATO.

*Cables will be off for the Presidents’ day on Monday, and will resume as usual afterwards.

Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership hits a snag - Turkey’s delays and possible ways out.

• A lot of readers have emailed asking for thoughts on the current Turkey - Sweden impasse, and how the Turkish President Erdogan’s refusal to ratify Swedish membership of NATO is causing a NATO-wide problem, and affects the security posture of our Scandinavian allies: with Finland (which, unlike Sweden, shares a land border with Russia - and at 830 miles, a very long one too) being the most exposed party.

• The issue is multi-faceted, and we will approach it in three parts: 1) Current issues between Sweden and Turkey, 2) Possibility of Finland joining ahead of Sweden - risks, opportunities and benefits associated with this potential move, and 3) Steps to resolve outstanding issues.

Part I: Sweden - Turkey debacle.