Joining NATO at all costs
Fins and Swedes searching for compromise with Ankara

ANALYTICS  07 December 2022 - 13:50

Sweden and Finland are looking for compromise ways to get Türkiye’s consent to join NATO as soon as possible. That is the impression one gets from the statements and visits of high-level officials of the two Nordic States to Ankara. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, for example, visited Ankara last month and expressed his general support for Türkiye’s position on combating international terrorism and, in particular, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a recognized terrorist organization in that country. It is well known, however, that Stockholm has been a safe haven for members of this organization for many years.

Kristersson’s visit confirmed the revision of the Scandinavian country’s policy regarding the crucial aspect of Türkiye, after Ankara warned Stockholm and Helsinki that there would be no concessions on this issue.

Anadolu agency, referring to the Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar, only recently reported on the upcoming visit of the head of the Finnish Defense Ministry, Antti Kaikkonen, on December 8 in Ankara. It is known that the bilateral meeting will discuss matters regarding defence and security, as well as the entry of the Nordic country into the military bloc. According to the Turkish agency, Defence Minister Akar clearly stated the priorities of the country’s foreign policy, noting that official Ankara was and remains a supporter of the open-door policy for the North Atlantic Alliance, but insists at the same time that its national security priorities be taken into account.

Everyone is well-aware, that Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO on May 18 after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier, on May 13, stated that he was against the integration of these countries into the organization. Later, on May 14, the Turkish President’s Press Secretary, Ibrahim Kalin, elaborated in an interview with Reuters that Türkiye “does not close the doors of NATO to Sweden and Finland”, but for now views their entry as a problem for its national security.

The upcoming visit of the Finnish defence minister to Türkiye, following the visit of his Swedish counterpart, speaks of the consistency of the policy of the two Nordic states and their steadfast commitment to NATO. At the same time, the increased attention of Finns and Swedes paid to Türkiye indicates its special position in NATO when it comes to security and counter-terrorism. It was no coincidence when Minister Akar said that the Alliance is first and foremost a security structure and a major platform for combating terrorism.

“Terrorism is a serious problem that remains on the agenda of all countries. Türkiye is the only country that combats several terrorist organizations at once. The actions and contribution of our country to counteracting threats should be taken into account”, said Minister Akar.

This message seems to have been addressed not so much to the North Atlantic bloc as to the US, which continues to arm the PKK. This is precisely why the Turkish Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu, refused to accept Washington’s condolences in connection with the recent terrorist attack in Istanbul. Ankara then directly stated that it “knows exactly” from where this attack had been coordinated.

Soylu’s statement is not only another maneuver by the Turkish side against the US, but also an open challenge to international terrorism, against which Ankara is actually fighting alone, not only in Syria and Iraq, but also within the North Atlantic bloc itself.

Given the determined integrity of the Turkish Government on this key matter, it would be naive to think that it would turn a blind eye to the Swedish and Finn sympathy for the Kurdish terrorists on their territory. As early as June of this year, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, speaking to journalists on the results of the two-day meeting of NATO Heads of Defence Agencies in Brussels, stressed the providing of political and financial support for the terrorists in Sweden in Finland have turned the two Nordic countries into a real threat not only to Türkiye but to NATO itself. The minister assured that Ankara never opposed the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance, expecting the allies to respect Türkiye’s interests. That is to say, Ankara actually pushed Stockholm and Helsinki against the wall, declaring them supporters of terrorism, which in fact, in a lot of ways corresponds to the truth.

However, the promises made by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in an interview with TV4 prior to his November visit to Türkiye indicated that the Swedish Government would not cooperate with organizations with ties to the PKK. And this generally satisfies Ankara and promotes compromise between it and Stockholm.

“We should not have political cooperation with organizations that are so close to the PKK”, said Kristersson, effectively confirming the earlier statement of Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström that the authorities no longer support Kurdish militia in Syria, namely the People's Defense Units (YPG) and Democratic Union Party (PYD).

If in the past, Stockholm completely shunned itself from accusing Ankara of supporting terrorism, then today representatives of the Swedish government publicly promise not to contribute in any way to the PKK.

As for the situation with Finland, Türkiye has made 10 extradition requests to Finland between 2019 and 2022, according to the Finnish publication Ilta-Sanomat, but Helsinki agreed to extradite only two people. Nevertheless, one can assume that during his upcoming visit to Türkiye, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen will voice the proper statements that will suit Ankara. A reason to believe in this is the tripartite memorandum signed in Madrid during the summer at the last NATO summit, in which Helsinki and Stockholm committed themselves to fulfil their counter-terrorism obligations, which clearly corresponds to the position and requirements of Ankara.

Caliber.Az