Turkey does not support Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO: Erdogan
Europe, Middle East, News May 15, 2022 1 Comment on Turkey does not support Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO: ErdoganTurkey is “not favorable” toward Finland and Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on May 13.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a press conference that he does not take a positive view of Sweden and Finland’s bid for NATO membership.
Erdogan said that “At the moment, we are following the developments regarding Sweden and Finland, but we don’t hold positive views.” The Turkish president also pointed out that NATO’s decision to accept Greece as a member in 1952 was a “mistake”. Erdogan added that “Because in the past, previous Turkish governments made a mistake about Greece’s membership, and you know Greece’s current attitude against Turkey.”
“As Turkey, we don’t want to repeat similar mistakes. Furthermore, Scandinavian countries are guesthouses for terrorist organizations… They are even members of the parliament in some countries. It is not possible for us to be in favor.” Erdogan said.
Although the Turkish president did not say that he would block any attempts by Finland and Sweden to join NATO, Turkey’s disapproval of the Nordic countries joining the alliance could pose a serious problem as new members require approval from all 30 member states.
Turkey, which joined the NATO alliance in 1952, has the second-largest military after the United States in the 30-member alliance. Turkish President Erdogan’s decision not to support the Nordic countries’ membership bid is believed to be based on their supportive stance toward the members of the terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
On May 12, Finland’s prime minister and the president stated that they seek to rapidly join the NATO alliance and pave the way for Finland to announce a decision in the coming days. Meanwhile, Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, is expected to announce its decision on May 15. However, in order to induct Sweden and Finland into NATO, all 30 member countries have to ratify their admittance to the military alliance.
Separately on May 13, U.S. President Joe Biden held phone talks with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.
According to the White House statement, during the phone talks, President Biden “underscored his support for NATO’s Open Door policy and for the right of Finland and Sweden to decide their own future, foreign policy, and security arrangements.”
NATO’s founding member the United Kingdom also signed a security pact with Sweden and Finland on May 11 to boost the defense confidence of the two European countries and provide military support to either country in case of invasion. However, Finland and Sweden cannot benefit from NATO’s collective defense clause until they formally join the alliance.
Earlier in January, NATO’s Secretary General Stoltenberg said “Finland and Sweden are NATO’s closest partners. We share the same values. And we face the same challenges, in the Baltic Sea region and beyond. Our forces have trained and exercised together for many years. We continue to share information and situational awareness. And both Finland and Sweden have contributed to NATO missions and operations, from the Western Balkans to Iraq.”
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both Finland and Sweden seek to join the NATO, even though Moscow has repeatedly warned the two countries not to join the alliance as it would bring the NATO forces closer to the Russian border inciting unnecessary confrontation. Russian officials believe that NATO’s expansion toward its borders would be taken as a serious threat to Russia’s security. NATO on the other hand claims to be a defensive alliance that does not pose any offensive threat to Russia.
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[…] The ruling Social Democrat party gathered on Sunday in favor of NATO membership, while on May 12, Sweden’s neighboring country, Finland’s president, and the prime minister announced that they seek to rapidly join the NATO alliance. […]