The decision to expand NATO to the north was made last summer, but has so far failed because of Turkey. Its head of state, Erdogan, is demanding the extradition of Kurdish activists and opposition politicians from Sweden. But Finland’s accession could still be approved, he says now for the first time.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens Sweden to only allow Finland to join NATO. “If necessary, we could send a different message to Finland. Sweden will be shocked when it sees our response,” Erdogan said in a televised meeting with youth. However, Finland should not make the same mistakes as Sweden.
NATO member Turkey has been blocking the admission of the two Nordic countries into the western military alliance for months. Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO after the Russians invaded Ukraine. The enlargement requires the approval of all 30 NATO countries.
In a joint memorandum, Turkey, Sweden and Finland reached an agreement on the terms of Turkey’s approval at the end of June last year. According to Sweden, the agreements made at the time have been fulfilled. Erdogan then demanded more. In particular, Turkey is demanding that Sweden extradite people deemed terrorists by Ankara. It is about supporters of the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK and the cleric Fethullah Gülen, whom the Turkish government blames for the attempted coup in 2016. Sweden denies harboring terrorists. Neither the Gülen movement nor the Syrian-Kurdish militia YPG are listed as terrorist organizations in Europe.
Erdogan recently declared that after the Koran was burned in Stockholm, Sweden should not expect any support from Turkey for its planned NATO membership. A meeting with Sweden and Finland planned for early February on their intended accession has been postponed indefinitely. Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto recently considered a break in talks with Turkey about NATO accession for Sweden and his country to be appropriate in view of the ongoing impasse. Parliamentary and presidential elections are due in Turkey in mid-May.
In addition to Turkey, Hungary’s approval for NATO expansion is still missing. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced that the parliament in Budapest will vote next month on whether the two Nordic countries will join NATO.
