By Natalia Drozdiak, Selcan Hacaoglu and Jenny Leonard
Officials attending the NATO summit in Madrid hope to persuade Turkey to change its stance on Finland and Sweden’s request to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
US President Joe Biden will hold talks with his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan, in Madrid on Wednesday, as the White House announced. Erdogan will also have a four-on-four meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson on Tuesday afternoon.
The Turkish government, which may veto the Nordic countries’ membership in NATO, is delaying their candidacies, arguing that they are not doing enough to deal with Kurdish organizations whose members Ankara considers terrorists. In addition, Erdogan has called for restrictions on the sale of military equipment to his country to be lifted.
“I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic,” Niinisto told reporters in Madrid today. “In general, it seems that the talks are going better, which means greater mutual understanding between the two sides.”
If the demands of the two – so far neutral – states for their membership in NATO proceed, this development will mark a substantial change in the European security landscape after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Erdogan is expected to take a tough stance in Madrid, especially against Sweden, according to a Turkish official. Another Turkish official does not “see” progress, but an attempt to create a positive atmosphere, with the issue dependent on a political decision by Erdogan.
“If they are to become members of the Alliance, then they must take seriously Turkey’s security concerns,” Erdogan told reporters on Tuesday before leaving for Spain. “We will have a four-way debate and see where we end up. We do not want simple words, we want results.”
Erdogan said that Biden expressed his desire to meet with the Turkish president today or tomorrow and that a meeting is possible on the sidelines of the Summit, a fact that was confirmed by the White House.
Tough attitude
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has had repeated talks with Erdogan in recent days. Turkish, Finnish and Swedish officials held separate meetings during the same period.
The accession process will be time-consuming, many months, as it will have to be ratified by Allied parliaments in order for applicants to become members and benefit from the collective defense commitments provided for in Article 5 of NATO Statute.
The United States has stressed that the accession of the two Nordic countries to NATO would strengthen the security of the Alliance. The Turkish bloc has also complicated the Allies’ efforts to form a united front against Russian aggression.
It is noted that Sweden has tightened the laws on terrorism in recent years and continues to take steps in this direction. Niinisto has said that Finland’s counterterrorism legislation is at the same level as that of NATO members, following last year’s renewal.
Stockholm and Helsinki maintain that freedom of speech is constitutionally protected in their countries. Therefore, they could not ban peaceful Kurdish demonstrations, while pointing out that the decision to extradite someone to Turkey – at Ankara’s request – is the sole responsibility of justice. Regarding the lifting of arms export bans, Anderson sent the message earlier this month that Swedish authorities may have a different view of arms shipments to Turkey in light of Stockholm’s request to NATO.
Source: Capital
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