Swedish and Finnish NATO bids may be treated “separately”, warns Turkey
Turkey has proposed supporting Finland’s bid to join NATO while blocking Sweden, highlighting the deteriorating relations between Ankara and Stockholm after a right-wing activist desecrated a Koran in the Swedish capital.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Monday that Turkey would have to evaluate applications for Sweden and Finland to join the Western military alliance “separately”.
“I think it would be fair to distinguish between a problematic country and a less problematic country,” Çavuşoğlu said at a press conference in Ankara, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. His remarks came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that “Sweden would be shocked when we react differently to Finland”.
Relations between Sweden and Turkey have worsened significantly in recent weeks since the right-wing activist set fire to the KoranIslam’s holy book, outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
Stockholm’s decision to allow the protest provoked a backlash from Turkey and sparked protests in several predominantly Muslim countries. In a sign of rising tensions, the US warned on Monday of possible “imminent” terrorist attacks on churches, synagogues and diplomatic missions in Istanbul.
The US, in its second security warning in three days, said Turkish authorities were “investigating” the potential for terrorist attacks in Istanbul, a city of 15 million people. The US consulate in Istanbul did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the nature of the threat or why it deemed a potential attack imminent.
“The US government is warning its citizens of possible imminent reprisals by terrorists against churches, synagogues and diplomatic missions in Istanbul or other places frequented by Westerners, particularly in the areas of Beyoğlu, Galata, Taksim and Istiklal,” the US said, referring to parts of Istanbul which is heavily trafficked by western tourists.
Relations between Sweden and Turkey were already faltering before the Koran-burning incident, and Ankara opposed Stockholm’s bid to join NATO.
Turkey has insisted that Sweden return dozens of people it considers terrorists in exchange for Ankara’s support for Stockholm to join the Western military alliance. Sweden has already made several concessions but said this month it could do no more to convince Turkey. “You have to extradite these terrorists so you can enter NATO,” Erdoğan said, Anadolu Agency reported.
Turkey and Hungary are the two NATO members who have not yet ratified Sweden’s and Finland’s membership, which requires unanimous support from the alliance’s 30 states.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said on Monday that his office had immediately contacted Erdoğan’s following his comments about potential leasing in Finland, not Sweden. “There is nothing to say at the moment, but I think there will be statements in the future,” he told Helsingin Sanomat newspaper.
Niinistö insisted that Finland stuck to its line that it wanted to join NATO with neighboring Sweden. He added that part of the advantage of Finland joining the defense alliance would be that Sweden would become a member at the same time. The Finnish president also noted that in times of crisis it would potentially be easier to supply Finland through Sweden and Norway than the Baltic Sea.
Some Finnish foreign policy experts have urged Helsinki to go it alone if Turkey offers to ratify its application only on the grounds that Finland has the longest border with Russia of any European country at 1,300 km. Others have urged Finnish leaders to remain calm as Turkey puts pressure on Sweden. Finland holds parliamentary elections in April and polls point to the possibility of a change of government.
Niinistö also said on Monday that he had a short phone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the matter.