Russia-Ukraine War: Turkish president raises new doubts about Sweden and Finland’s participation in NATO

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday reiterated his harsh criticism of Sweden as a haven for Kurdish separatists whom he sees as terrorists, which raises new questions about what the Turkish leader will be satisfied enough to support NATO membership for Sweden and Finland.

Erdogan said last week that Turkey I can’t see with good eyes applications of the two countries to join NATO, but largely maintained its criticism of Sweden, which accepted the kurdish refugees and there are members of Parliament of Kurdish descent.

When they declared that they would apply to join NATO, Sweden and Finland said so senior diplomats will be sent to Ankara to discuss Turkey’s concern.

On Monday, however, Erdogan told them not to bother. “Are they going to convince us? Sorry, but you shouldn’t get tired”, He said in a press conference.

Both countries have no clear stance against terrorism, Erdogan said, refusing to extradite “terrorists” to Turkey. Earlier on Monday, state news channel TRT Haber reported that Turkey called on Finland and Sweden to return 33 people with alleged links to two groups that Turkey considers terrorist organizations.

But the two countries they refused to extradite most of them, he said.

“A Place for Terrorists”

Erdogan said that if Finland and Sweden join NATO, “then (the Alliance) will be a place where representatives of terrorists are concentrated.

Sweden and a breeding ground for terrorist groups“, he said.” They still have pro-PKK terrorists in their parliament. How can we trust them? he said, referring Kurdistan Workers’ Partyor the PKK, which launched a violent separatist movement in Turkey in the early 1980s.

Analysts Erdogan said, a fickle leader, apparently trying to increase his political influence on issues involving him, including the issue of Kurdish separatists, who expressed doubts about NATO membership for the two Nordic countries. His sticking to the alliance should be approved by all 30 states current members, including Turkey.

But Erdogan’s position it was a surpriseeven for their own diplomats.

Ankara also accuses Sweden and Finland of being a safe haven for followers of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey has accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016, as well as people associated with the PKK.

Despite Erdogan’s protests, the United States and NATO signaled over the weekend that they thought The Turkish resistance could be overcome.

Over the weekend, the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglumet with NATO foreign ministers in Berlin, a meeting also attended by his counterparts from Sweden and Finland.

“We can reach a consensus”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had talked to Cavusoglu about Ankara’s concerns about Sweden and Finland and after Sunday’s meeting he was confident that consensus can be reached.

“I’m pretty confident that we’ll come to an agreement about that,” Blinken said.

On Sunday, NATO Secretary -General Jens Stoltenberg also said he was confident the alliance would address Turkey’s concerns “in a way do not postpone membership”.

On Saturday, Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan’s spokesman and top foreign policy adviser, told reporters that Turkey had not closed the door on Sweden and Finland to join NATO, but wanted negotiations with the Nordic countries and violent measures against what Turkey considers terrorist activities, especially in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

“We’re not closing the door,” he told Reuters. “But basically we are posing this problem as a security issue national for Turkey.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said he was “confused” by Erdogan’s comments, because just a month ago, Erdogan told him that “can be tested” a Finnish application to join NATO.

On Monday, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sedat Onaland “discussed the need for solidarity with NATO allies and partners to deal with the planned attackuninspired and unreasonable from Russia against Ukraine and to impose real costs on Putin and his ‘cronies,’ ”the State Department said.

c.2022 The New York Times Company

ap