By Jeanne Plaumann
Turkey has given up its opposition to the admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO.
► During the NATO summit in Madrid, Turkey will support the invitation to Finland and Sweden to become members of the alliance, said Finnish President Sauli Niinistö (73) on Tuesday.
A corresponding memorandum was signed after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (63), Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (55) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (68).
Intimate handshake between NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (left) and Turkish President Recep Erdogan Photo: VIOLETA SANTOS MOURA/REUTERS
It’s a complete turnaround! On Tuesday, before the meeting with Finland, Sweden and the NATO chief, the Turkish President spoke of their “hypocrisy” towards “terrorist organizations”.
︎ Erdogan’s problem: internal enemies like the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK. In particular, he accuses Sweden of protecting them – which Sweden strenuously denies – and wants the country to hand over people suspected of PKK sympathy to him.
Sweden reacted and approached Turkey: “Our terror legislation is undergoing the biggest revision in 30 years,” said Sweden’s prime minister after a meeting with NATO chief Stoltenberg on Monday in Brussels. And: “In addition, constitutional amendments are being prepared that would pave the way for the criminalization of participation in terrorist organizations.”
The NATO Secretary General also sounded like a very strong approach to Erdogan’s demands. Both of them no longer even spoke of “Turkey”, as Turkey is called in English, but of “Türkiye”, as Turkey is now officially called in the UN.
Apparently, giving in to Turkey helped – all of a sudden there was no sign of resistance. Sweden and Finland can join the military alliance.
The NATO summit takes place in Madrid on Wednesday and Thursday. Before the actual summit, the heads of state and government of the NATO countries will meet on Tuesday evening at the invitation of King Felipe VI of Spain. together for a dinner at the royal palace.
For Finland and Sweden, the NATO issue is a historic step: Both countries have traditionally been non-aligned from a military point of view. And: Both have long viewed Russia as a threat. In Finland’s case, this also has to do with the fact that the country has a border with Russia that is more than 1,300 kilometers long. No other EU country has such a long border with the giant empire.
