Reps from Finland and Sweden meet with Turkish officials to discuss NATO
Envoys from Finland and Sweden were meeting Monday with Turkish officials to discuss Ankara’s continued objections over their bids to join NATO, in what would potentially be one of the biggest expansions of the military alliance in decades.
Sweden and Finland announced last month that the Nordic nations would jointly submit applications to join NATO, abandoning the neutrality they had adhered to for decades during the Cold War, and underscoring how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has radically altered Europe’s security calculus.
But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has threatened to block the two nations from joining the alliance, saying Sweden and Finland sympathize with Kurdish militants whom he regards as terrorists. His stance has complicated the applicants’ prospects because an application to join NATO must be unanimously approved by its 30 members.
Turkish resistance to the countries joining the alliance has slowed a process that other members of the alliance have been keen to fast-track as the West seeks to demonstrate unity in the face of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Officials in Finland and Sweden have spoken with Turkish officials in attempts to address the government’s concerns. NATO defense ministers, too, have been discussing how to satisfy Turkey. Finland’s foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, told Swedish media in Brussels on Monday that the negotiations were important but that he did not expect an immediate breakthrough.
A NATO official confirmed Monday that Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg had invited senior representatives from the three countries to meet in attempts to address the concerns raised by Turkey. Stoltenberg said over the weekend that the alliance took seriously the concerns of the Turkish government, but he did not offer details on a possible resolution.
The discussions Monday come as Russia continues to pummel eastern Ukraine with strikes, resulting in mounting losses of life on both sides in a war that Western leaders have warned could last years.
Turkey’s public broadcaster, TRT, confirmed that a delegation from Ankara had arrived in Brussels on Sunday for the talks. Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesperson for Erdogan, told reporters that negotiations could not proceed unless concrete steps were taken.
Foreign Minister Ann Linde of Sweden also urged patience, telling the Swedish news agency TT in comments published Monday, “I hope that the negotiations will go well, but we are also prepared that this is a process that can take a long time.”
In May, President Joe Biden met with President Sauli Niinisto of Finland and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden at the White House and vowed to speed up their membership. He characterized their inclusion in the alliance as almost a formality, noting that both countries had contributed forces to conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.