Swedish and Finnish diplomats visited Ankara on Wednesday to address Turkey’s objections to their application for NATO membership. “It has been agreed that the discussion, which is being conducted in a constructive spirit, will continue,” reports the Twitter account of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Turkish spokesman sees “a positive approach from Finland and Sweden”.
Turkey opposes the entry of the Scandinavian countries into the alliance because of Sweden’s alleged support (to a lesser extent Finland) to the Kurdish PKK and the Gülen movement, among others, which Turkey sees as a threat. The country also accuses the two NATO candidates of imposing an arms embargo on Turkey and refusing to extradite terrorists.
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The PKK, labeled a terror organization by several of Turkey’s allies, is waging a decades-long insurgency against Turkey, a conflict that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
Five concrete guarantees
The Swedish and Finnish delegations met with President Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal. The Swedish delegation was led by State Secretary Oscar Stenstrom, the Finnish one by Jukka Salovaara, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Turkey this week demanded five concrete guarantees from Sweden, including “ending political support for terrorism”, “ending terrorist financing” and “eliminating arms support” to the banned PKK and a Syrian-Kurdish militia group associated with it.
In addition, Ankara wants global cooperation against terrorism and the lifting of arms sanctions against Turkey.
Turkey says it has been making requests to Sweden for the extradition of Kurdish militants and other suspects since 2017, but this has not been granted. The government claims that Sweden has provided the militants with military equipment, including anti-tank weapons and drones, and plans to provide EUR 352 million next year to support this group.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson denies the Turkish allegations: “We do not send money or weapons to terrorist organizations.”
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Finland has received nine extradition requests from Turkey in the past three years, according to the Finnish news agency STT. Two people were extradited, six requests were rejected and the latest case has not yet been decided.
Sweden and Finland submitted their written applications to join the NATO alliance last week. All thirty current members must agree to join a new country.