Sweden’s defence minister Peter Hultqvistis on Monday said his country will send diplomats to Turkey to address Ankara’s apprehension about Stockholm’s Nato ambitions.
Prompted by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the Nordic nation dropped its 73-year neutral stance on Sunday with hopes of a quick accession to Nato. The decision followed one by Finland, which confirmed its bid to become a part of the United States-led 30 member alliance.
However, Turkey, which has been a member of the military pact for 70 years, said it would not see the applications in a “positive view”, with president Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling the Scandinavian countries “a guesthouse for terror organisations”.
“They are even members of the parliament in some countries. It is not possible for us to be in favour,” he added.
Citing a “mistake” made by former Turkish leaders who allowed Greece’s entry into the alliance in 1952, Mr Erdogan said on Friday: “We, as Turkey, do not want to make a second mistake on this issue.”
Turkey is seeking the repatriation of 33 people across Finland and Sweden with alleged links to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants or the Muslim cleric Fethullan Gulen, whom Mr Erdogan accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt. It has also raised demands for the Nordic countries, which have a strong Turkish immigrant population, to halt support for Kurdish militant groups and lift bans on the sale of some weapons to Turkey.
“We will send a group of diplomats to hold discussions and have a dialogue with Turkey so we can see how this can be resolved and what this is really about,” Mr Hultqvist told public service broadcaster SVT.
Any country seeking to join the military alliance is required to have the approval of all members and their parliaments.
Following Mr Erdogan’s remarks, the US on Friday said it was confident Turkey would not hold up membership of the two Nordic nations.
“Turkey is a valued Nato ally, that has not changed. They have been involved and helpful in trying to get dialogue going between Russia and Ukraine, and they have provided assistance to Ukraine. So nothing changes about their standing in the Nato alliance,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby was quoted by AFP as saying.
Ibrahim Kalin, president Erdogan’s spokesperson, said on Saturday that Turkey has not “closed the door” to Sweden and Finland joining Nato, but wants the Nordic nations to clamp down on what it sees as terrorist activities.
“What needs to be done is clear: they have to stop allowing PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] outlets, activities, organisations, individuals and other types of presence to...exist in those countries,” he added.
Meanwhile, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday: “We will be able to address the concerns that Turkey has expressed in a way that doesn't delay the membership.”
Russia on Monday threatened the Nordic countries by saying that their bid to join the military alliance would have far-reaching consequences.
“The fact that the security of Sweden and Finland will not be strengthened as a result of this decision is very clear to us. They should have no illusions that we will simply put up with it,” Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
“The general level of military tension will rise, and predictability in this sphere will decrease. It is a shame that common sense is being sacrificed to some phantom provision about what should be done in this unfolding situation,” he added.
Sweden’s parliament will hold a debate on the country’s application on Monday, and the government will take a formal decision to later in the day.
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