Türkiye ‘OK’ with Sweden, Finland if promises are fulfilled: Akar
Türkiye expects Sweden and Finland to show the strength of their states and fulfill their commitments according to their tripartite agreement, the country’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Monday.
“We want them to stop the horrible, despicable attempts to enter their countries. If these are achieved, we have no problem with them,” Akar told reporters in Ankara, amid renewed tension between his country and Sweden.
An incident in the Swedish capital On Saturday, in which Danish anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of Islam’s holy book in front of the Turkish embassy and gave a hate-filled speech with the permission of Swedish authorities under police protection, has brought tensions between Ankara and Stockholm to a boiling point. .
Swedish authorities allowed Paludan to carry out his blatantly anti-Islamic and anti-Turkkiye activities, sparking a global backlash and outrage in Türkiye, especially as the Nordic country seeks to join NATO, which is at risk of stalling in the wake of the storm. weekend.
“It is not acceptable to ignore and remain silent, without protecting yourself from any kind of shameful and despicable attempt. If they keep it at this pace, Türkiye’s position and attitude will be clear, Akar said in a video conference with military commanders on Monday.
Stockholm has been courting Ankara to get the green light for its application since last year, when it, along with Finland, renounced its military non-alignment following the war between Russia and Ukraine. However, Ankara has insisted firmly that its security concerns about terrorists protected and tolerated by Sweden must be addressed.
In accordance with the tripartite memorandum signed by the parties in June of last year, Stockholm has sworn to fulfill the mentioned demands, including extradition and increasing the fight against terrorist groups. However, over the past month, Sweden’s public support for terrorist groups from their supporters has increased tensions between the two countries, which Ankara has repeatedly warned could endanger Stockholm’s NATO membership process.
In Stockholm, a scandalous protest in mid-January in which an effigy of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was hanged by his feet in front of City Hall has particularly hampered the talks, and the burning of a Koran on Saturday has fueled tensions.
Akar reiterated Ankara’s support for NATO’s open door policy, that Turkey was not an enemy of Sweden and Finland. “We are not blocking their NATO membership,” he explained.
– Just as they want to cooperate with NATO to defend their countries, we want cooperation in our fight against terrorism. We want support, Akar repeated.
Sweden and Finland want Turkey’s support for the security of their own countries, but they “refuse” Turkey’s demands to suppress terrorism, Akar emphasized.
“We urge both countries to fulfill their promises in the memorandum as soon as possible. If they do, we have no problem with them,” the minister said.
When President Erdoğan convenes the government tonight, Paludani’s hate crime, the protests against Erdoğan, and the splitting of Sweden and Finland’s NATO applications into two cases are said to be on the agenda.
Sweden’s hesitance has forced Ankara to be more cautious, and evaluating the Stockholm case separately from the Helsinki case is intended to signal sincerity in Turkey’s support for NATO’s open door policy, the sources said.
However, Türkiye remains angry over Saturday’s incident, and Sweden’s bid to join NATO looks more dangerous than ever, as the country has repeatedly indicated it will not join NATO anytime soon.