Turkey threatens to block Finland and Sweden as Finland and Sweden announced their bid to join NATO last week.
Sweden formally announced its bid to join NATO, joined by neighbor Sweden on Saturday in a move that will end the Scandinavian country’s centuries-long military non-alignment.
Erdogan President of Turkey Opposes the Bid
At a news conference on Monday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan President of Turkey said Turkey opposed the Finnish and the Swedish bids to join Nato, describing Sweden as a “hatchery” for terrorist organizations. “Neither of these countries have a clear, open attitude towards the terrorist organizations. How can we trust them?” the Turkish president said. He is angered by what he sees as their willingness to host Kurdish militants.
Turkey accuses the two Nordic nations of harboring members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group it views as a terrorist organization, and followers of Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara blames for orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.
All member states must agree that a new country can join NATO, therefore Sweden and Finland require Turkey’s support in their bid to join the military alliance.
Mr. Erdogan said Swedish and Finnish delegations should not bother going to Ankara, Turkey’s capital, to convince it to approve their NATO bid.
His government has also pledged to block applications from countries that have imposed sanctions on it.
Sweden suspended arms sales to Turkey three years ago, following Ankara’s military intervention in Syria. And according to the official Turkish news agency, both Finland and Sweden have rejected dozens of requests to extradite Kurdish militants who Turkey describes as terrorists.
Mr. Erdogan restated his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO- just hours after they said they would seek membership and said that without the support of all NATO members, Sweden and Finland cannot join the military alliance.
Sweden and Finland’s Stance for Joining NATO
On Monday, Sweden said Europe was living in a dangerous new reality, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Sweden will strengthen NATO,” Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson says.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the move by Finland and Sweden to join the 30-member military alliance did not threaten Moscow directly – but stressed that any expansion of military infrastructure would trigger a response from the Kremlin.
Speaking in parliament in Helsinki on Monday, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said he was shocked by Turkey’s stance, but added that his government was not interested in “bargaining” with Mr. Erdogan.
“We are leaving one era behind us and entering a new one,” Swedish Prime Minister Ms. Andersson told lawmakers during a debate in Stockholm, also on Monday.
She said a formal application could be handed in within several days and would be synchronized with Finland. NATO has indicated its willingness to admit the two new members.
On Tuesday, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde signed the formal application to join Nato
However, Ms. Andersson emphasized that Sweden did not want permanent NATO bases or nuclear weapons on its territory.
Norway, Denmark, and Iceland – all NATO members – immediately said they were ready to support Sweden and Finland, by all means, necessary if they came under attack.
The UK, also a NATO member, has already given security guarantees to Sweden and Finland to cover the transition period.
Monday’s announcement by Sweden came as Nato began one of its biggest exercises in the Baltic region, involving some 15,000 troops. Named “Hedgehog”, the drills in Estonia involve 10 countries, including Finland and Sweden.
On Sunday, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said he was confident that Finland and Sweden would both join, despite Turkish objections.
The issue is likely to dominate discussions between Mr. Blinken and his Turkish opposite number in Washington on Wednesday. Having encouraged the two Nordic countries to apply, Washington won’t want to let them down at the 11th hour.
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