Turkey’s leaders oppose Finland, Sweden joining NATO
HELSINKI – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that his country was “not in favor” of Finland and Sweden joining NATO, indicating that Turkey could use its status as a member of the Western military alliance to veto action. to allow the two countries.
“We are following developments in Sweden and Finland closely, but we are not of a positive opinion,” Erdogan told reporters.
The Turkish leader explained his opposition by quoting Sweden and other Scandinavian countries’ alleged support for Kurdish militants and others whom Turkey considers to be terrorists. He also accused Greece, a NATO ally, of using the alliance against Turkey, saying Ankara did not want a repeat of that “mistake”.
Erdogan did not say outright that he would block all accession attempts that the two Nordic nations can make, but NATO makes all its decisions by consensus, which means that each of the 30 member states has a potential veto over who can join.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Finland and Sweden, should they formally apply to join the world’s largest security organization, would be welcomed with open arms.
The accession process can be done within “a couple of weeks”, several NATO officials have said, although it may take about six months for member states to ratify the accession protocol.
Meanwhile. A report from the Swedish government on the changed security environment that the Nordic country is facing after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine says that Moscow would react negatively to Sweden joining NATO and initiating several countermeasures.
The Swedish government’s security policy analysis, which will be used as a basis for Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s government to decide whether to apply for membership in the Western military alliance, was presented to Swedish legislators on Friday.
Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic party, led by Andersson, is expected to reveal its decision on Sunday.
The report pointed out that NATO membership brings a number of benefits to Sweden – especially the collective security provided by the 30-member military alliance. At the same time, it lists many tactics that Russia is likely to take in retaliation.
These would include cyber and various types of hybrid attacks, violations of Swedish airspace or territorial seas. Other aggressive behavior, including strategic signaling with nuclear weapons, is also conceivable from Moscow, the report states.
The report states that Russia’s war in Ukraine limits the possibilities for attacks against other countries, but that Russia still has the capacity for a limited number of hostile measures against countries such as Sweden.
The report makes no recommendations on whether Sweden should join NATO or not. Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde told the Riksdag’s legislator that “an armed attack on Sweden can not be ruled out” and pointed to the security guarantee that NATO membership would offer.
The President and Prime Minister of the Nordic neighboring country Finland said on Thursday that they are in favor of quickly applying for membership in NATO, which paves the way for the country to formally announce the membership application in the coming days.
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Phrases reported from Ankara, Turkey.