Istanbul Turkey is blocking the start of NATO accession talks with Finland and Sweden. As the German Press Agency learned from alliance circles, it was not possible on Wednesday morning in the NATO Council, as originally planned, to make the decision necessary to start the admission process.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made it clear that he was against the accession of the two countries. The head of state had made approval of Sweden and Finland joining NATO dependent on approaching his country on security issues.
In a speech to his Islamic-conservative governing party, the AKP, in Ankara, Erdogan emphasized that NATO expansion must be linked to respect for his country.
But the position of the authoritarian head of state is not without controversy – not even in his own ranks. Erdogan’s chief adviser Ibrahim Kalin recently announced: “Turkey is not closing the doors to Sweden and Finland joining NATO.”
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Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had also stated that a “yes” or “no” from Turkey was a matter for negotiation. Apparently that wasn’t what supporters of the Turkish ruling party wanted to hear. Former AKP MP Mehmet Metiner said in a guest article in the Yeni Safak newspaper: “This rhetorical approach has seriously hurt us.”
Erdogan receives support
Sweden and Finland officially applied for NATO membership on Wednesday. It was actually intended that the NATO Council would then immediately decide to start accession talks. According to information from alliance circles, however, Turkey raised security concerns at the meeting and made it clear that it cannot agree at this point in time.
Sweden and Finland submit NATO applications
A spokesman for the alliance declined to comment on the talks in the NATO Council. He only emphasized that Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was determined to find a quick solution for Finland and Sweden. “Both countries are our closest partners and joining NATO would strengthen Euro-Atlantic security,” he said.
The discord within the Turkish government became clear at the end of February. When Erdogan wanted to emphasize Turkey’s diplomatic neutrality at the beginning of the war, chief adviser Kalin said in an interview: “Occupying a country is not justified and is illegitimate.”
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar also apparently did not hit the tone in a statement that Erdogan and other AKP cadres would have liked. Akar had stressed that Turkey would remain an “active and productive member of the alliance” in the Ukraine war.
Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu, on the other hand, sharply criticized ex-General Akar’s commitment to NATO. “If we could trust Europe, America or NATO, then we wouldn’t have to expel terrorists in northern Syria now,” Soylu had publicly replied, adding: “We will save the world from this Western incursion.”
He received support from Erdogan’s communications director Fahrettin Altun. He also publicly criticized the moderate statements made by his government colleagues to NATO. “It has become questionable how successful this institution is at all.”
The process reveals the problems with Turkey’s diplomatic special path with the war in Ukraine. Ankara supplies Ukraine with highly effective combat drones, but at the same time does not impose sanctions on Russia. Turkey has closed the Bosphorus to foreign naval ships since the outbreak of war, and at the same time Turkish tourism representatives are courting Russian vacationers.
Reservations against joining NATO
The Turkish leadership around President Erdogan had long expressed reservations about Finland and Sweden joining NATO. Erdogan is a thorn in Sweden’s side in particular.
Read more Handelsblatt articles about the consequences of the Ukraine war
The country has taken in several Turkish nationals who are considered members of terrorist groups in Turkey. In addition, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde met with a leader of the Syrian-Kurdish YPG in late 2021.
In the past, the group, which is believed to be a spin-off from the terrorist organization PKK, has carried out attacks in Turkey and on Turkish soldiers in Syria. Turkey is fighting the group and has sent its own military to Syria three times.
According to Erdogan, Sweden and Finland “wanted to continue supporting terrorist organizations”, but at the same time wanted Turkey to agree to NATO membership. “That’s a contradiction, to say the least.”
Erdogan accused Sweden of refusing to extradite 30 “terrorists”. “NATO is a security association, a security organization. In this respect, we cannot say yes to making this security body unsafe,” said Erdogan.
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