NATO enlargement on the brink
Stoltenberg calls for an understanding with Turkey
05/17/2022 02:54 am
Finland and Sweden want to join NATO. But Turkey is threatening to veto it. President Erdogan accuses the two countries of supporting the movements Ankara is fighting. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg is trying to settle the dispute – and is calling for Turkey to be approached.
In the struggle for Turkey’s approval of the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for Ankara’s demands to be taken seriously. “Turkey is a valued ally and all security concerns must be addressed,” Stoltenberg said after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. “In this historic moment we must stand together.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Cavusoglu had repeatedly accused Finland and Sweden of supporting the Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK, which Turkey is fighting, and the Kurdish militia YPG in Syria. There is also criticism that NATO countries have restricted the delivery of armaments to Turkey because of Turkey’s actions against these groups.
One cannot agree to the accession of countries that have imposed sanctions on Turkey, Erdogan threatened on Monday in Ankara. He also accused Sweden of being a “breeding ground” for terrorist organizations. Terrorists are also in the Swedish parliament. With regard to the planned visit of a Finnish and Swedish delegation to Turkey, he said they shouldn’t even bother.
All NATO members, including Turkey, would have to agree to the admission of Sweden and Finland. How Ankara can be prevented from vetoing is unclear. According to diplomats, in addition to statements by the two northerners on the fight against terrorism, arms deals could also play a role. The government in Ankara wants to buy F-16 fighter jets in the United States – but a possible deal was politically controversial in Washington recently.
The reasons for Finland and Sweden’s desire to join NATO are security concerns that have arisen in the course of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Until then, both countries had been pursuing a policy of alliance neutrality for decades.