Trilateral NATO talks postponed as Sweden calls for dialogue to resume
Türkiye on Tuesday postponed NATO accession talks with Sweden and Finland after tensions escalated between Ankara and Stockholm over the latter’s unwavering stance on supporting terrorists and anti-Türkiye propaganda.
Ankara announced its decision a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lashed out at Sweden for allowing weekend protests that included the burning of the Koran outside Ankara’s embassy in Stockholm.
A Turkish diplomatic source said the tripartite meeting has been pushed back from February to a “later date,” without giving details.
The decision further reduced the chances of the two countries joining NATO ahead of Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections in May.
Sweden’s Prime Minister immediately called for “reflection, for calm in the process so that we can return to functioning talks between Sweden, Finland and Turkey.”
Ulf Kristersson said there were “provocateurs who wanted to destroy Sweden’s relations with other countries” and thwart its attempts to join the US-led Western military alliance.
“No national security issue is more important than that we and Finland quickly become members of NATO,” Kristersson said.
Faced with deteriorating ties between Ankara and Stockholm, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Tuesday floated for the first time the idea that it might have to consider joining the alliance alone, while stressing that joint membership remained the “first option”.
– We have to assess the situation, if something has happened that in the longer term would prevent Sweden from moving forward, says Haavisto to Yle.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said he was “in contact with Finland to find out what this really means”.
Turkey has stated that it has no major objections to Finland’s entry into NATO.
Swedish leaders have strongly condemned the burning of the Koran but defended their country’s broad definition of “freedom of expression”.
The incident came just weeks after PKK/YPG terrorist sympathizers hung a picture of Erdoğan by the ankles in front of Stockholm City Hall, sparking outrage in Ankara.
Haavisto said the anti-Türkiye protests had “obviously slowed down the progress” of Finland’s and Sweden’s applications.
“Those who allow such blasphemy in front of our embassy (in Stockholm) can no longer expect our support for their NATO membership.” Erdoğan said in a speech after a cabinet meeting on Monday.
“If you love members of terrorist organizations and enemies of Islam so much and protect them, then we advise you to seek their support for the security of your countries,” he said.
The Koran burning was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line. The stunt was a “shameful one,” Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan said the burning of the Muslim holy book was a hate crime that could not be defended with freedom of expression.
At the same time, the act in Sweden was protested all over the world with Muslim countries announcing condemnations as well as criticism from the United Nations, the United States and Germany.
A planned visit by the Swedish foreign minister and the speaker of the Riksdag to Türkiye was canceled after the tensions.
Sweden and Finland, which share a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia, jointly decided to end their decades-long policy of military non-alignment, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Their plans were formally endorsed at a historic NATO summit in June, after which the two countries’ bids were ratified by 28 of NATO’s 30 member states. Bids to join NATO must be ratified by all members of the alliance, of which Turkey is a member.
Türkiye has often expressed that it does not oppose NATO expansion, but rather criticizes Stockholm for not taking action against elements that pose a security threat to Ankara.
Last June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum to address Ankara’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.
But the recent provocative demonstrations by terrorist group supporters and Islamophobic people in Stockholm have caused Turkish leaders to question Sweden’s commitment to taking the necessary steps to gain membership in NATO.
Ankara has long criticized Stockholm for harboring members of various terrorist organizations, particularly members of the PKK and, in recent years, the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) – the organization behind the defeated 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye.
Ahead of a historic NATO summit, the three countries signed a trilateral agreement in June that prevented a Turkish veto. In the memorandum, the Nordic countries said they would address Turkey’s extradition requests for terrorists. In addition, the joint directive states that Finland and Sweden “will not provide support to … the organization described as FETÖ” and terrorist groups.