Türkiye not against NATO enlargement in principle, says Ankara

Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın said that Türkiye supports NATO enlargement in principle but told Sweden and Finland from day one that Ankara would not leave provocations unanswered.

Speaking in a live interview on January 31, Kalın said some provocative incidents that took place in Sweden did not take place in Finland.

"We've told them that there are necessary steps to be taken. Sweden is rewriting its constitution and told us they need time until June," the top presidential aide said, adding that Türkiye is not blocking their membership.

Kalın also said Türkiye respects Finland and Sweden's decision to proceed together, but if Finland wants to hold a separate process for NATO membership, then it is their decision.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently said that Ankara might approve Finland’s NATO membership while withholding approval for the membership of Sweden over ongoing tensions.

Sweden has approved a constitutional amendment that enables it to enact tougher anti-terror laws demanded by Ankara. However, Türkiye suspended NATO talks with Sweden and Finland last week after a protest in Stockholm in which a far-right politician burned a copy of the Quran.

Ankara has also been outraged by a Swedish prosecutor's decision not to press charges against PKK terrorist sympathizers that hung Erdoğan's effigy by its ankles outside Stockholm City Court.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his country wanted to restore NATO dialogue with Türkiye, but Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said last Thursday it was meaningless to restart discussions.

Çavuşoğlu also said there was "no offer to evaluate Sweden's and Finland's NATO membership separately."