Turkey opposes Nordic Nato memberships
Turkey believed to be after concessions from alliance as it claims Finland and Sweden ‘support terrorists’
The Turkish president last night spoke out in opposition to Finland and Sweden’s attempts to join Nato, dealing a blow to their hope for rapid accession to the military alliance. In a televised address, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could not take a “positive view” of the Nordic countries’ bids for membership because of what he claimed was their support for terrorists. It was an apparent reference to their backing for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a military group which Turkey considers a foe.
THE Turkish president last night spoke out in opposition to Finland and Sweden’s attempts to join Nato, in a blow to their hopes for rapid accession to the military alliance
In a televised address, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could not take a “positive view” of the Nordic countries’ bids for membership because of what he claimed was their support for terrorists.
It was an apparent reference to their support for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the military group Turkey considers a mortal foe. The group is classified as a terrorist organisation by Ankara, as well as by the United States and the European Union.
“Scandinavian countries are like some kind of guest house for terrorist organisations,” Mr Erdogan said. “They even take part in their parliaments. At this point, it is not possible for us to look at it positively.”
Analysts said the comments by Mr Erdogan were most likely his opening gambit in an attempt to secure concessions from the alliance.
Ann Linde, Sweden’s foreign minister, said the Turkish leader was likely trying to use the situation to gain something it wanted. Finland and Sweden’s attempts to join Nato hinge on the unanimous support of the alliance’s 30 member states before membership can be formalised.
For some time, Swedish MPS and officials have expressed concerns that Turkey could thwart any potential Nato bid.
“There are a lot of Kurds in Sweden, there are a lot of MPS with Kurdish background, Sweden has been active on the Kurdish issue – I’m afraid there could be a backlash,” a senior Swedish official said earlier this month.
Turkey’s relationship with its fellow Nato allies has been strained since Ankara purchased Russia’s S-400 antiaircraft system in 2019. It sparked a diplomatic crisis in which Turkey was blocked from receiving the F-35 fighter jets from the US.
Sources said Mr Erdogan’s Nato ambassador had already spoken positively of Finland and Sweden’s membership bids, raising the prospect of the comments yesterday being a negotiating tactic.
Christopher Skaluba, director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said: “Depending on your perspective, the Turks are either famous or infamous for negotiating very hard on every issue in Nato.
“My initial instinct was very much that this was the opening of a negotiation, the beginning of trying to gain some concessions.”
Finland was said to be more concerned about the impact of Hungary, which has close ties with Russia, on its Nato application. Nato officials have said they expect both Finland and Sweden
‘The Turks are either famous or infamous for negotiating very hard on every issue in Nato’
to become formal “invitees” of the alliance in time for a leaders-level summit in Madrid at the end of June.
It could take the Nordic nations between six to 12 months for all 30 existing Nato members to officially approve and ratify their applications.
Meanwhile, Brussels was considering shelving its plans for an embargo on Russia oil imports because of mounting opposition from Hungary. Budapest, which is hugely reliant on oil deliveries from Russia, has refused to back further measures against Russia’s energy security, which has held up the bloc’s attempts to roll out a sixth package of economic sanctions against Moscow.
Meanwhile, the leader of Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia yesterday set July 17 as a date for a referendum on joining Russia.
“Anatoly Bibilov signed a decree on holding a referendum in the Republic of South Ossetia,” his office said in a statement, citing his people’s “historic aspiration” to join Russia.