The President of Parliament says that Helsinki can not change its laws and extradite “innocent people” to allay Ankara’s concerns about terrorism
Finland’s top lawmaker has ruled out reassuring Turkey to gain approval for the country’s NATO membership, saying parliament cannot change laws and extradite “innocent people” whom Ankara considers terrorists.
Parliament Speaker Matti Vanhanen, a former Prime Minister, commented in an interview with the Finnish public broadcaster Yle on Saturday, in response to claims by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that NATO candidates Finland and Sweden have hosted people linked to Kurdistan. Labor Party. , or PKK, which Ankara considers “terrorists”. Erdogan said earlier this week that he would veto the two Nordic countries’ NATO bids – a unanimous consent is required for the military alliance to accept new members – at least in part because they have refused to extradite PKK “terrorists” to Turkey.
“On the points concerning our rule of law, Turkey must realize that we can not agree to it [change them] politically, “said Vanhanen.” Innocent people are not extradited to another country, especially if there is a risk that they will be imprisoned or convicted without justification. “
Turkish and Finnish leaders would reportedly hold talks on Saturday. In addition to its concerns about PKK members, Ankara has demanded that Finland and Sweden extradite people connected to FETO, a group that supports the opposition priest Fethullah Gulen.
Erdogan has also pushed for the two countries to lift restrictions on arms exports to Turkey, and for Ankara to re-enter the F-35 fighter jet, from which it was expelled in 2019 due to its purchase of Russian S-400s. air missiles. He has gone so far as to accuse Sweden of arming Kurdish militias with weapons that have been used against Turkish troops.
Although Erdogan has spoken more strongly about Sweden, Vanhanen said that Finland will remain united with Stockholm in the accession process, although it may have an easier path to approval on an independent basis. “The bond between Finland and Sweden is strong,” he said. “We will definitely not break it. We will not abandon our partners.”
The two-time presidential candidate told Yle that he is confident that Finland will be admitted to NATO, and “time will tell” how long the process will take. On issues other than extradition demands, Vanhanen said: “We need to find out exactly what Turkey expects.” He added that talks with Ankara would reveal how much the controversy is specifically about Finland and Sweden rather than “something within NATO.”
Finland, which shares a 1,340 km (832 km) land border with Russia and fought a war against the Soviet Union in 1939, has maintained its military neutrality since the end of World War II. Sweden has remained militarily neutral since 1814, a generation after the last of its costly battles with Russia. Residents of both countries have historically opposed joining NATO, but public opinion changed sharply after Russia launched its military operation against Ukraine in February.
Instead of reaping the expected peace delivery after the end of the Cold War in 1991, NATO extended its reach all the way to Russia’s borders and broke promises of its expansion to the east. The bloc has added 14 new members since 1999, and Ukraine and another former Soviet republic, Georgia, has applied for NATO membership.
(RT.com)
Source: sn.dk