“Confirm your status as the southern leader in the alliance”: how Turkey questions the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO

Turkey has accused Sweden of violating commitments related to the NATO accession process.

This is stated in a statement on the website of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

It is emphasized that Ankara condemns the holding of a demonstration in the center of Stockholm organized by groups associated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

“We condemn in the strongest terms the permission to carry out an anti-Turkish propaganda action, which was staged today in the center of Stockholm by groups associated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, immediately after the heinous attack on the holy Quran, which (also. -

) was allowed to carry out, ”says in a message from the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

In addition, the ministry called the demonstration a "flagrant violation of obligations" of Stockholm under the tripartite memorandum "on the suppression of propaganda of terrorist organizations", the implementation of the provisions of which Ankara made a condition for Sweden's entry into NATO.

“It is one thing to declare commitment to obligations under a tripartite memorandum, and another to implement them.

We reiterate that we expect Sweden to take concrete and effective measures that go beyond rhetoric, especially with regard to the fight against terrorism,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

Ankara also canceled the Swedish Defense Minister's visit to Turkey, calling it "meaningless."

The day before, a demonstration was held in the center of Stockholm against Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance and agreements with Ankara.

According to the Swedish newspaper Expressen, hundreds of people gathered at the protest, and the symbols of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) could be seen in the crowd.

In addition, the leader of the Danish far-right Hard Deal party, Rasmus Paludan, held a rally near the Turkish embassy, ​​which was accompanied by the burning of the Koran.

Ankara strongly condemned the incident, describing it as a "heinous attack" on a holy book and an "anti-Islamic act" against Muslims under the guise of "freedom of expression."

“We call on the Swedish authorities to take the necessary action against the perpetrators of this hate crime,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

After that, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on his Twitter page that the burning of many sacred books is an act of deep disrespect.

He expressed sympathy to all Muslims offended by the incident in Stockholm.

Later, in response to Paludan's actions, activists in Turkey organized a large-scale protest at the Swedish Consulate General in Istanbul, during which they defiantly burned the Swedish flag, local media reported.

• Protest at the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, during which activists defiantly burned the Swedish flag, January 21, 2023

• AP

• © Emrah Gurel

Path to alliance

Recall that in the spring, Sweden, along with Finland, applied for NATO membership, and in the summer, the North Atlantic Alliance already signed accession protocols and announced the start of their ratification in all countries of the bloc.

To date, only Turkey and Hungary have not approved the agreement on the membership of the two Scandinavian countries in NATO.

As Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said at the end of November 2022, Budapest intends to resolve this issue in early February of this year, as Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto informed him.

Haavisto also explained that Finland and Sweden will join the alliance at the same time.

On December 5, the Finnish Cabinet submitted to the parliament of the kingdom a draft law on Finland's accession to NATO.

This document states that, by becoming a member of the alliance, Helsinki will participate in all aspects of its activities, and is also now preparing “militarily to fulfill its obligation to collective defense in accordance with the Fifth Article, which includes the use of armed force” .

In turn, Turkey stated that Finland and Sweden have not yet fulfilled their obligations to join NATO, and therefore Ankara has not yet ratified their accession to the bloc.

According to Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, "provocative actions continue" in these Scandinavian countries.

As Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu later added, Sweden has not taken concrete steps to extradite the terrorists or freeze their accounts.

However, on January 10, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed confidence that Ankara would ratify the applications of Stockholm and Helsinki to join the alliance.

The next day, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström announced that the kingdom had fulfilled all the conditions of the agreement with Turkey for joining NATO.

As Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte predicted, Finland and Sweden will become full members of the bloc in 2023.

At the same time, Russia has repeatedly emphasized that such a step by Stockholm and Helsinki would entail serious consequences for the security of these two Scandinavian countries.

In addition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that in the event of such an expansion of NATO, Russia would take "appropriate military-technical measures" on its side of the border.

"The United States will be forced to meet halfway"

According to experts, Turkey does not consider either Sweden or Finland as equal participants in negotiations on the expansion of the bloc, so its position on the entry of these countries into the bloc has become a serious obstacle for them on this path.

“Ankara managed to suspend the process of two Scandinavian countries joining NATO.

At the same time, the cancellation of the visit of the Minister of Defense of Sweden suggests that Turkey is not going to discuss with the kingdom the issue of its membership in the alliance and the fulfillment of its obligations.

Turkey wants these issues to be discussed in the US, which would make concessions on a number of issues.

Ankara's goal is to confirm its status as the southern leader in the alliance through such negotiations.

But Washington, apparently, does not want to get involved in this yet, ”said Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, in an interview with RT.

• NATO summit

• AP

• © Bernat Armangue

However, the analyst believes that sooner or later the US will have to make concessions to Turkey.

“Ankara will also strive to be able to independently make many decisions, regardless of what the bloc or Washington think about this.

And the United States will eventually be forced to meet the Turkish authorities, ”Bruter believes.

At the same time, the analyst recalled that Turkey puts forward demands to Sweden and Finland in several directions at once.

“These are not only issues related to the PKK, but also demands for the lifting of the arms embargo against Turkey.

Ankara has made it clear that the two Scandinavian countries will not become members of the bloc until they withdraw their support for Kurdish organizations that it considers terrorist," he said.

According to the analyst, the likelihood of Sweden and Finland joining NATO in 2023 will largely depend on the actions of the United States.

“Washington must decide whether it is ready to sit down at the negotiating table and discuss with Turkey its terms for the entry of the two Scandinavian countries into the bloc.

But the United States is not in a hurry to do this yet, ”the analyst stated.

In turn, political scientist Alexander Asafov believes that it is no coincidence that Ankara is raising the stakes on the issue of Sweden's obligations to Turkey for the kingdom's entry into NATO.

“The Turkish authorities are doing this before the presidential elections due in May.

And Erdogan needs to show his voters a fierce fight against the Kurdish formations.

Now this confrontation is becoming more fundamental: it is important for the Turkish president to demonstrate achievements on this track, among other things, seeking the extradition of Kurds from Sweden, ”Asafov said in an interview with RT.

In his opinion, Turkey will continue to increase the stakes until the presidential elections.

“Ankara will expect Sweden to fulfill absolutely all of its requirements, which will become tougher over time.

However, at the end of the election campaign, Ankara's position may soften.

But Turkey can only agree to the admission of Sweden and Finland to the bloc after a conversation with the United States and promises of specific privileges for Ankara on their part, ”Asafov concluded.