Turkey Again Goes Against NATO by Opposing Finland and Denmarks Membership

Finnish soldiers take part in the Army mechanised exercise Arrow 22 exercise at the Niinisalo garrison in Kankaanp'', Western Finland, on May 4, 2022. Finland appears on the cusp of joining NATO. Sweden could follow suit. By year's end, they could stand among the alliance's ranks. Russia's war in Ukraine has provoked a public about face on membership in the two Nordic countries. They are already NATO's closest partners, but should Russia respond to their membership moves they might soon need the organization's military support (Heikki Saukkomaa./Lehtikuva via AP)

 

I would like to give you France24 posting on this story and then Military Times to compare how they see this development and how they reported it. 

Istanbul (AFP) – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey did not have a "positive opinion" on Finland and Sweden joining NATO, throwing up a potential obstacle for the nations' membership bid. 

The leader of NATO-member Turkey spoke ahead of expected confirmations from the Nordic nations on Sunday that they will apply to join the Western military alliance.

Erdogan accused both countries of harbouring "terrorist organisations" in his unfavourable assessment of the membership bids.

"We do not have a positive opinion," Erdogan told journalists after Friday prayers in Istanbul.

"Scandinavian countries are like a guesthouse for terror organisations," he said.

Turkey has long accused Nordic countries, in particular Sweden, which has a strong Turkish immigrant community, of harbouring extremist Kurdish groups as well as supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based preacher wanted over the failed 2016 coup.

Erdogan cited a "mistake" made by Turkey's former rulers who greenlit Greece's NATO membership in 1952.

"We, as Turkey, do not want to make a second mistake on this issue," he said.

Needs unanimous support

Moscow's February 24 invasion of Ukraine has swung political and public opinion in Finland and Sweden in favour of membership as a deterrent against Russian aggression.

Both countries have long cooperated with NATO, and are expected to be able to join the alliance quickly.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly said they would be welcomed "with open arms".

Turkey's "not positive" response is the first dissenting voice at the prospect of the two Nordic countries' NATO prospects.

Stockholm and Helsinki have cranked up their international contacts to seek support for their potential bids.

Once a country has decided to apply for NATO membership, the 30 members of the alliance must agree unanimously to extend a formal invitation, which is followed by membership negotiations.

The final approval could then take place at a NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June. The 30 member states would then have to ratify the decision.

Turkey, which enjoys good relations with Kyiv and Moscow, has been keen to play a mediating role to end the conflict and has offered to host a leaders' summit.

Ankara has supplied Ukraine with combat drones, but has shied away from slapping sanctions on Russia alongside Western allies.

'Hungary of the EU'

Turkey's position on Sweden and Finland's NATO membership risks making it look like the "Hungary of the EU", said Washington Institute fellow Soner Cagaptay.

Pro-Russia Hungary often breaks from its EU colleagues on a broad range of issues, including rule of law and human rights.

Cagaptay said Ankara should have negotiated its terror-related concerns behind closed doors with the two countries.

"The fact that this is done publicly is going to hurt Ankara's image significantly," he said.

Erdogan's comments may also raise tensions with France, whose President Emmanuel Macron has said that NATO was undergoing "brain death" partly due to Turkey's behaviour.

Macron has made clear he supports Finland's bid.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto spoke with Erdogan in April as part of consultations for its NATO bid.

"I thanked President Erdogan for his efforts for peace in Ukraine. Turkey supports Finland's objectives," he tweeted at the time.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will participate in an informal NATO meeting in Berlin at the weekend, according to the foreign ministry.

Military Times:

HELSINKI (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that his country is “not favorable” toward Finland and Sweden joining NATO, indicating that Turkey could use its status as a member of the Western military alliance to veto moves to admit the two countries.

“We are following developments concerning Sweden and Finland, but we are not of a favorable opinion,” Erdogan told reporters.

The Turkish leader explained his opposition by citing Sweden and other Scandinavian countries’ alleged support for Kurdish militants and others whom Turkey considers to be terrorists.

He said he also did not want to repeat Turkey’s past “mistake” from when it agreed to readmit Greece into NATO’s military wing in 1980. He claimed the action had allowed Greece “to take an attitude against Turkey by taking NATO behind it.” 

Greece to extend base access deal with US military

The agreement will grant the U.S. military continued access to three bases in mainland Greece along with its naval presence on the island of Crete.

Erdogan did not say outright that he would block any accession attempt the two Nordic nations might make, but NATO takes all its decisions by consensus, meaning that each of the 30 member countries has a potential veto over who can join.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Finland and Sweden, should they formally apply to join the world’s biggest security organization, would be welcomed with open arms.

The accession procedure could be done in “a couple of weeks,” several NATO officials have said, although it could take around 6 months for member countries to ratify the accession protocol. 

Ukraine conflict reveals parallels to new Marine Corps war-fighting vision

Marines can look to the Ukraine conflict for real-world previews of how the Corps’ war-fighting concept might unfold.

By Todd South

Meanwhile. a report by the Swedish government on the changed security environment facing the Nordic country after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine says Moscow would react negatively to Sweden joining NATO and launch several counter-measures.

The Swedish government’s security policy analysis, which will be used as a basis for Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s Cabinet to decide whether to seek membership in the Western military alliance, was presented to Swedish lawmakers Friday.

Sweden’s governing Social Democratic Party, led by Andersson, is expected to reveal its decision on Sunday.

The report pointed to NATO membership carrying a number of advantages for Sweden - above all the collective security provided by the 30-member military alliance. At the same time, it lists numerous tactics Russia is likely to take in retaliation.

These would include cyber and different kind of hybrid attacks, violations of Swedish airspace or territorial sea. Other aggressive behavior including strategic signaling with nuclear weapons are also conceivable from Moscow, the report said.

The report states that Russia’s war in Ukraine limits the possibilities for attacks on other countries but that Russia still has the capacity for a limited number of hostile measures against countries like Sweden.

The report does not make recommendations whether Sweden should join NATO or not. Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde told lawmakers at the Riksdagen legislature that “an armed attack on Sweden cannot be ruled out” and pointed to the security guarantee that NATO membership would offer.

The president and prime minister of Nordic neighbor Finland said Thursday they’re in favor of rapidly applying for NATO membership, paving the country’s way to formally announce membership bid in the coming days.