Sweden, Finland to discuss the NATO process in Stockholm
The prime ministers of Sweden and Finland are scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss their stalled NATO process following recent tensions between Stockholm and Ankara, which prompted Helsinki to consider entering the bloc separately.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin is the first head of government to be received by her Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson since he took office last autumn.
After their discussions, a joint press conference with Marin and Kristersson is planned for the afternoon.
Tensions escalated between Sweden and Turkey after a series of anti-Türkiye and anti-Islam provocations in the country.
In one of the actions that took place in Sweden, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s picture was hung on a lamppost outside Stockholm’s city hall. In another incident, a far-right activist burned a Koran outside the Turkish embassy.
Türkiye postponed the next tripartite meeting planned for February in Brussels with Sweden and Finland on their NATO bid while canceling a parliamentary and defense ministerial visit by Stockholm to Ankara. The protests in Sweden also led to a wave of anti-Swedish protests in other Muslim countries.
After the incidents, Erdoğan said on Wednesday that Turkey views Finland’s application for NATO positively membership but does not support Sweden’s bid.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that it was NATO and the two Nordic countries that would decide on possible separate ratifications.
Finland said last week for the first time that it must consider joining NATO without Sweden.
– We have to assess the situation, if something has happened that in the longer term would prevent Sweden from moving forward, says Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto to the TV channel Yle.
He added that it was “too early to take a position on that now” and that a joint application remains the “first option”.
Helsinki had so far refused to speculate on the possibility of joining without Sweden, stressing the benefits of joint membership with its close neighbour.
Sweden and neighboring Finland abandoned decades of non-alignment and applied to join NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All NATO members except Turkey and Hungary have ratified their accession, but unanimity is required.
Ankara has previously said that above all Sweden must first take a clearer stance against terrorists. 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 recent provocative demonstrations by terrorist sympathizers and Islamophobic figures in Stockholm have caused Turkish leaders to question Sweden’s commitment to taking the necessary steps to gain NATO membership.
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.