President Erdogan will tell NATO leaders that he will not compromise on Sweden’s and Finland’s membership applications
Ankara maintains its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office said on Monday, a position he is expected to repeat for NATO leaders at their forthcoming summit in Spain.
Erdogan will say that “Turkey will not compromise on its attitude towards countries that support terrorism and terrorist organizations” during the key meeting on June 28-30, his office said, quoted by domestic media.
Two public events are planned before the meeting in Madrid. One in Brussels on Friday and a second panel will take place alongside the Spanish summit.
The two Nordic nations requested to join the US-led military bloc at the end of May, citing Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In the past, both nations maintained neutrality, even during the height of the Cold War.
Moscow said Sweden and Finland were harming their national security by seeking formal membership in an organization they perceived as hostile. Russia will adjust its military position accordingly, warned Moscow.
Turkey said it would not allow the two nations to join the alliance because of a number of complaints, including what Ankara called hostile terrorists. The Turkish government was referring to migrants affiliated with the Kurdish militant movement PKK and Kurdish militias based in Syria and Iraq.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged that Turkey’s opposition to the proposed enlargement came as a surprise. “Earlier in the process, we had no reason to believe there would be any problems,” he told the Financial Times on Monday.
The governments of Sweden and Finland said they were willing to compromise with Turkey by tightening their respective anti-terrorism laws and reviewing restrictions on arms exports to Turkey, which they introduced in response to Turkish attacks on Kurdish forces in Syria.
But they are reportedly reluctant to meet Turkish demands for extradition requests for people whom Ankara accuses of having terrorist ties, an issue specifically mentioned by President Erdogan when he was questioned about blocking offers of NATO membership.
According to to the Finnish media, the country received 10 extradition requests from Turkey between 2019 and 2022 and has processed seven of them, while granting only two.
Turkish demands seem particularly difficult for the Swedish government, which demands support from Kurdish legislators to retain power. Last week, the Social Democrats ruled confirmed they will stick to an agreement they signed with kurdish MPs in november to save their justice minister from a no-confidence motion.
Amineh Kakabaveh, an independent Kurdish MP, threatened to join the opposition during the vote unless the government made a public promise in the face of pressure from Ankara.
Source: sn.dk