Sweden and Finland promise to join NATO in a “united front” against Turkey
On October 29, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and her Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson reaffirmed their commitment to join NATO “hand in hand,” presenting a united front to Turkey that has raised questions about both their applications.
“I want to emphasize that Finland and Sweden are preparing to join NATO together. I think this is very important for the entire security environment in Northern Europe, Marin said at a joint press conference.
According to the Finnish leader, the entry of the two Nordic countries would strengthen the US-led militarist alliance as a whole and their entry should be “simultaneous”, which has been the case so far throughout the accession process.
– We respect that each country must make its own decisions in this matter, but Sweden and Finland naturally want ratification as quickly as possible, says Kristersson.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said as late as October 6 that his country still opposed Sweden’s bid.
Turkey has accused Sweden of financial aid Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Unit (YPG), two Kurdish groups that allegedly pose a threat to Ankara’s borders and security.
On October 5, Turkey and Sweden began their two-day talks on Turkish extradition request for terrorist suspects in Sweden, according to the recently implemented NATO agreement.
Ankara has previously called on both Sweden and Finland to support Turkey in its fight against Kurdish armed groups in Syria, as a condition for agreeing to their request for NATO membership.
Erdogan claims Sweden has approved a plan to provide $376 million to the YPG by 2023, a day after he announced Ankara would resume operations in Syria to establish a 30-kilometer “safe zone” along Turkey’s southern borders.
On the other hand, Sweden’s The Inspectorate for Strategic Products (ISP) announced on September 30 its decision to lift the ban on the export of military equipment to Turkey, apart from the concessions made by Stockholm in their quest to join NATO.