Turkey’s President is urging Sweden and Finland to criminalize the Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK.
(Photo: Reuters)
Istanbul Turkey is blocking the planned accession of Finland and Sweden to the NATO military alliance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Sweden on Monday of being a “hotbed” for terrorist organizations. Terrorists are also in the Swedish parliament.
Both countries would host people who have ties to groups that Turkey sees as terrorist. Erdogan referred to the Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK and supporters of the preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is believed to be behind the failed military coup in 2016.
Furthermore, he cannot agree to the accession of countries that have imposed sanctions on Turkey, Erdogan said in Ankara on Monday. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had already criticized at the weekend that there were export restrictions on armaments because of Turkey’s fight against these groups and called for them to be lifted.
With the announcement from Ankara that it might make use of its right of veto, it is uncertain whether the two states will join the defense alliance for the time being. Finland and Sweden have felt threatened since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
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The Russian war of aggression has tilted the mood among the population in favor of NATO membership. Finland is separated from Russia by a border that is around 1,300 kilometers long. The Swedish government decided on Monday to submit an application for membership to NATO. Both countries maintained neutrality for decades.
Stockholm: Demonstration in support of the PKK
Turkey’s concerns about Sweden and Finland are not new. It is specifically about the Syrian rebel group YPG. The organization is successfully fighting the Islamic State in Syria, but is a split-off from the PKK.
The “Kurdish Workers’ Party” has killed around 40,000 people in terrorist attacks in Turkey in the past 40 years. Most of the victims were themselves Kurds who did not want to cooperate with the PKK. The PKK has been on the terrorist list in Turkey and the EU since the 1990s.
The Swedish Foreign Minister had met one of the YPG leaders in Stockholm.
(Photo: imago images/TT)
Western support for the group has been causing disputes within NATO since 2015. At that time, the US announced that it would arm the YPG with weapons to fight the Islamic State. Turkey feared that the weapons could eventually be used against Turkey. Two Turkish military operations against the YPG in northern Syria followed, during which Turkish troops sometimes came dangerously close to their American comrades.
In fact, since 2013 there have been regular YPG attacks against Turkish civilians or security forces on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border. As recently as April 19, YPG rebels injured four people in an attack in Jarablus, Syria. Among them were helpers from the “White Helmets”, an aid organization that is also supported by the federal government with millions of dollars.
In December, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde met one of the YPG leaders in Stockholm. At the time, Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu criticized Sweden for funneling money to terrorists in northern Syria in a roundabout way. In late 2019, Sweden imposed an arms embargo on Turkey after the Turkish military invaded northern Syria.
>>> Read here: Turkey demands security guarantees for Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership
A demonstration in support of the PKK took place in Stockholm this Tuesday. The threat of a veto from Ankara therefore comes as no surprise. With regard to the visit of a Finnish and Swedish delegation to Turkey, Erdogan said that they should not even bother. “Will they come to convince us? If so, no offense, they shouldn’t bother,” he said.
Turkey attaches conditions to accession
The Turkish President had already caused unrest in the alliance last week with negative statements about the possible NATO accession of Finland and Sweden and said that the Scandinavian countries were downright “guest houses for terrorist organizations”.
At the weekend, Turkey had shown itself open to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, but made this subject to conditions. This includes dealing differently with those classified as terrorists. All NATO members would have to agree to the admission of the two countries, including Turkey.
Whether Erdogan’s no is the last word on the matter also has to do with the Turkish president himself. The 68-year-old long-time Turkish president has been losing popularity in the country since his increasingly authoritarian demeanor. Erdogan used to be able to score points domestically with foreign policy actions. But this bonus has fizzled out more and more in recent months. In one year the president will be elected in Turkey. Erdogan wants to be re-elected. But his poll numbers indicate a possible change of power in the Turkish presidential office.
Erdogan must therefore be particularly careful when it comes to an issue like the PKK. This could explain his tough stance, while his chief adviser Ibrahim Kalin and Foreign Minister Cavusoglu are simultaneously adopting more diplomatic tones.
It is quite possible that Turkey will ultimately give the green light for Sweden and Finland to join NATO. However, only if the two countries abandon their diplomatic stance towards the YPG.
More: Finland and Sweden are to become the new NATO bulwarks against Russia