{"id":3541,"date":"2023-01-30T15:36:28","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T15:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=3541"},"modified":"2025-10-18T08:36:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T07:36:03","slug":"finland-can-join-nato-without-sweden-turkish-president-erdogan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/diplomatic-world\/finland-can-join-nato-without-sweden-turkish-president-erdogan\/2023\/01\/30\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Finland can join NATO without Sweden :Turkish President Erdogan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ankara (AFP) Turkish<\/span> President<\/span> Recep<\/span> Tayyip<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> said<\/span> on<\/span> Sunday,<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> time,<\/span> that<\/span> Turkey<\/span> could<\/span> accept<\/span> Finland<\/span> into<\/span> NATO<\/span> without<\/span> its<\/span> Nordic<\/span> neighbor<\/span> Sweden.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Erdogan’s<\/span> comments<\/span> during<\/span> a<\/span> videoconference<\/span> with<\/span> young<\/span> voters<\/span> came<\/span> days<\/span> after<\/span> Turkey<\/span> suspended<\/span> NATO<\/span> accession<\/span> talks<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> countries.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Their<\/span> decision<\/span> threatened<\/span> to<\/span> dash<\/span> NATO’s<\/span> hopes<\/span> of<\/span> expanding<\/span> the<\/span> bloc<\/span> to<\/span> 32<\/span> countries<\/span> at<\/span> its<\/span> planned<\/span> summit<\/span> in<\/span> July<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Lithuanian<\/span> capital<\/span> of<\/span> Vilnius.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Finland<\/span> and<\/span> Sweden<\/span> have<\/span> abandoned<\/span> decades<\/span> of<\/span> military<\/span> non-alignment<\/span> and<\/span> applied<\/span> to<\/span> join<\/span> the<\/span> U.S.-led<\/span> defense<\/span> alliance<\/span> in<\/span> response<\/span> to<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> invasion<\/span> of<\/span> Ukraine.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Turkey<\/span> and<\/span> Hungary<\/span> are<\/span> the<\/span> only<\/span> member<\/span> states<\/span> whose<\/span> parliamentary<\/span> votes<\/span> have<\/span> failed<\/span> to<\/span> ratify<\/span> two<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> candidatures.<\/span> Hungarian<\/span> lawmakers<\/span> are<\/span> expected<\/span> to<\/span> approve<\/span> both<\/span> proposals<\/span> in<\/span> February.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> is<\/span> heading<\/span> into<\/span> his<\/span> hot<\/span> May<\/span> 14<\/span> election<\/span> campaign<\/span> as<\/span> he<\/span> seeks<\/span> to<\/span> strengthen<\/span> his<\/span> conservative<\/span> and<\/span> nationalist<\/span> base<\/span> of<\/span> support.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Erdogan’s<\/span> main<\/span> complaint<\/span> concerns<\/span> Sweden’s<\/span> refusal<\/span> to<\/span> extradite<\/span> dozens<\/span> of<\/span> suspects,<\/span> which<\/span> Ankara<\/span> has<\/span> linked<\/span> to<\/span> banned<\/span> Kurdish<\/span> fighters<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> 2016<\/span> coup<\/span> attempt <\/span>ended<\/span> in<\/span> failure.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>On<\/span> Sunday,<\/span> he<\/span> made<\/span> a<\/span> clear<\/span> distinction<\/span> between<\/span> Sweden<\/span> and<\/span> Finland’s<\/span> positions<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> months.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>He<\/span> said,<\/span> “If<\/span> you<\/span> want,<\/span> I<\/span> can<\/span> give<\/span> you<\/span> a<\/span> different<\/span> answer<\/span> for<\/span> Finland.<\/span> If<\/span> you<\/span> give<\/span> Finland<\/span> a<\/span> different<\/span> answer,<\/span> Sweden<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> shocked,”<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>He<\/span> also<\/span> reiterated<\/span> calls<\/span> on<\/span> Sweden<\/span> to<\/span> extradite<\/span> suspects<\/span> wanted<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> Turkish<\/span> government.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“If<\/span> you<\/span> really<\/span> want<\/span> to<\/span> join<\/span> NATO,<\/span> give<\/span> these<\/span> terrorists<\/span> back<\/span> to<\/span> us,”<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Sweden<\/span> has<\/span> more<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Kurdish<\/span> diaspora<\/span> than<\/span> Finland<\/span> and<\/span> has<\/span> a<\/span> more<\/span> serious<\/span> conflict<\/span> with<\/span> Ankara.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> two<\/span> countries<\/span> have<\/span> tried<\/span> to<\/span> break<\/span> through<\/span> Erdogan’s<\/span> resistance<\/span> in<\/span> months<\/span> of<\/span> difficult<\/span> negotiations.<\/span> Sweden<\/span> has<\/span> agreed<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> constitutional<\/span> amendment<\/span> that<\/span> would<\/span> allow<\/span> it<\/span> to<\/span> enact<\/span> the<\/span> tougher<\/span> anti-terrorism<\/span> laws<\/span> sought<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> Turkish<\/span> government.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>And<\/span> both<\/span> countries<\/span> have<\/span> lifted<\/span> a<\/span> ban<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> sale<\/span> of<\/span> military<\/span> materials<\/span> to<\/span> Turkey<\/span> imposed<\/span> after<\/span> the<\/span> 2019<\/span> military<\/span> invasion<\/span> of<\/span> Syria.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But<\/span> Ankara<\/span> reacted<\/span> angrily<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Swedish<\/span> police’s<\/span> decision<\/span> to<\/span> allow<\/span> a<\/span> protest<\/span> that<\/span> right-wing<\/span> extremists<\/span> burned<\/span> copies<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Koran<\/span> outside<\/span> the<\/span> Turkish<\/span> embassy<\/span> in<\/span> Stockholm<\/span> earlier<\/span> this<\/span> month.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Ankara<\/span> was<\/span> also<\/span> outraged<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> Swedish<\/span> prosecutor’s<\/span> decision<\/span> not<\/span> to<\/span> bring<\/span> charges<\/span> against<\/span> a<\/span> Kurdish<\/span> aid<\/span> group<\/span> that<\/span> hung<\/span> a<\/span> portrait<\/span> of<\/span> Erdogan<\/span> by<\/span> its<\/span> ankles<\/span> in<\/span> front<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Stockholm<\/span> City<\/span> Court.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Swedish<\/span> authorities<\/span> have<\/span> strongly<\/span> condemned<\/span> the<\/span> protests,<\/span> but<\/span> defended<\/span> the<\/span> widespread<\/span> acceptance<\/span> of<\/span> freedom<\/span> of<\/span> expression<\/span> in<\/span> their<\/span> country.<\/span> Finnish<\/span> officials<\/span> hinted<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> time<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> standoff<\/span> between<\/span> Ankara<\/span> and<\/span> Stockholm<\/span> could<\/span> force<\/span> them<\/span> to<\/span> seek<\/span> NATO<\/span> membership<\/span> without<\/span> Sweden.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Both<\/span> countries<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> aiming<\/span> to<\/span> join<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> beginning.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Finnish<\/span> Foreign<\/span> Minister<\/span> Pekka<\/span> Haavisto<\/span> said<\/span> last<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> that<\/span> “the<\/span> situation<\/span> needs<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> assessed<\/span> whether<\/span> something<\/span> happened<\/span> that<\/span> would<\/span> prevent<\/span> Sweden’s<\/span> long-term<\/span> survival”.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>However,<\/span> Haavisto<\/span> also<\/span> stressed<\/span> that<\/span> joint<\/span> accession<\/span> remains<\/span> the<\/span> “first<\/span> option”.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ankara (AFP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, for the first time, that Turkey could accept Finland into NATO without its Nordic neighbor Sweden. Erdogan’s comments during a videoconference with young voters came days after Turkey suspended NATO accession talks with the two countries. Their decision threatened to dash NATO’s hopes of expanding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[24,280,2480,2482,9925],"tags":[79,471,489,853,856],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/turk.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3541"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3541"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3544,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3541\/revisions\/3544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}