Important NATO members oppose Sweden and Finland’s accession

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken out about the Sweden and Finland apply to join NATO. “We are monitoring developments regarding Sweden and Finland, but we do not have a positive view,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on May 13.

The admission of any member to the NATO alliance requires the consent of all members of the bloc.

A senior US diplomat said that the US is working to clarify Turkey’s official position on the two Nordic countries joining NATO. The issue will be discussed in the ministerial meeting NATO in Berlin over the weekend, according to Karen Donfried, US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs.

Turkey joined NATO in 1952 and has the second largest army in the 30-member alliance, after the United States. Turkey has the strategic Incirlik airbase that holds 50 tactical nuclear weapons of the United States.

In his refusal to support Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO, Mr. Erdogan mentioned the Nordic countries’ reception of members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which Turkey has classified as a group. terrorism. Sweden and Finland are “home to many terrorist organizations,” Erdogan said.

Sweden has supported the Kurdish YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK, during the Syrian war. Swedish ministers met with YPG leaders, a move Ankara opposes.

Mr. Erdogan also mentioned that NATO’s admission of Greece as a member in 1952 was a “mistake”. Turkey and Greece are longtime rivals and confront each other even as NATO members.

Sweden currently has six Kurdish members in parliament, represented in the Liberal Party, the Swedish Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Left Party.

The leaders of Finland May 12 called for immediate accession to NATO, and neighboring Sweden is expected to follow suit.

Finnish and Swedish public support for joining NATO has skyrocketed since Russia launched its operation in Ukraine on February 28. Finland shares a long border with Russia and Moscow has warned of dire consequences if the neighboring country becomes a NATO member. Before that, for many years, Ukraine sought to become a member of NATO.

In response to President Erdogan’s comments on Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto called for patience and take the process step by step.

For her part, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde believes that the country’s efforts to become a NATO member will receive the consensus of the members of the alliance.

“If we decide to do that alternative (joining NATO), I think we will get very, very strong support from the big countries and importantly the members that Turkey wants. have a good relationship,” said Minister Linde.

Turkey has supported Ukraine through sending weapons, especially Bayraktar drones. However, so far Ankara has refused to participate in sanctions against Russia and its NATO allies.