On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan refused to support Finland and Sweden’s applications to become members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over their refusal to extradite Kurdish “terrorists.” His refusal could deal a fatal blow to their bids, as applicants require unanimous approval of all 30 members.
Shortly after Finland and Sweden announced their decision to formally apply for membership, Erdoğan said, “Neither of these countries have a clear, open attitude towards terrorist organisation. How can we trust them?” He pointed to the fact that both countries have taken in thousands of Kurdish refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Turkey, including members of the PKK, which Turkey views as a terrorist organisation.
Erdogan says Scandinavia countries have become a safe haven for terrorism. “They are even members of the parliament in some countries,” he said.
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) May 13, 2022
“Sweden has become a home for PKK and other terror groups. We don’t view their NATO membership positively”pic.twitter.com/OqUMtZEPv2
Furthermore, Sweden levelled an arms embargo against Turkey back in 2019 over its operations against the PKK in Syria.
Erdoğan also dismissed their attempts at resolving differences after Sweden and Finland both announced that they would send a delegation of diplomats to Ankara, saying, “Are they coming to try and convince us? Sorry. Don’t wear yourselves out.”
NEW: Erdogan says no need for Finnish and Swedish diplomatic delegations to visit Turkey if they are coming to convince the Turkish officials on PKK
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) May 16, 2022
“Excuse me but you don’t need to bother”
Echoing Erdoğan, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Finland and Sweden’s support for the PKK and its Syrian affiliate, the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), is “unacceptable and outrageous.”
Furthermore, Sweden’s ambassador to the United States, Karin Olofsdotter, reiterated that Stockholm has a “very strong anti-terrorist agenda” and called Erdoğan’s accusations “simply not true.”
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, however, said his government would not bargain with the Turkish president. However, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö has expressed confidence that they will be able to sort out their differences with constructive dialogue.
In fact, Erdoğan’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, said on the weekend that Turkey is “not closing the door” on their membership applications but merely “raising this issue as a matter of national security.”
If an authoritarian nation like Turkey can block democracies like Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, it might be time to rethink our membership requirements. #Erdogan
— Will Hurd (@WillHurd) May 13, 2022
In this regard, Kalin told Reuters: “What needs to be done is clear: They have to stop allowing PKK outlets, activities, organisations, individuals and other types of presence to … exist in those countries.”
Likewise, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said: “Turkey has made it clear that their intention is not to block membership.”
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, too, affirmed that Finland and Sweden would become NATO members despite Turkey’s objections.
Turkey's Erdogan repeated his opposition to NATO membership for Sweden & Finland & vowed to not commit the same mistake the previous government did in 1980 by allowing Greece to return to NATO military command. Turkey’s opposition is based on their stance on PKK & Gülen movement.
— Velina Tchakarova (@vtchakarova) May 16, 2022
Since 1984, the PKK has waged a rebellion against the Turkish state, which has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 Turkish civilians and almost 7,000 military personnel. It recently launched a major new ground and air offensive against PKK militants in northern Iraq.
Turkey’s remarks come after Finland and Sweden confirmed their plans to join the security alliance. Both countries have long maintained a neutral security policy in order to avoid antagonising Russia. However, the fear that they could be Russia’s next target after Ukraine has generated massive support for NATO membership both within their governments and among their citizens at large.