Turkey opens NATO doors to Finland and Sweden

Special envoy in Madrid.

Turkey did not face its allies face to face. Even before the official opening dinner of the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, on Tuesday evening, Ankara reached an agreement with Finland and Sweden not to hinder their membership in the Atlantic Alliance. Without waiting for President Recep Tayyip Erdo ։an to meet with US President Joe Biden and French President Emanuel Macron on Wednesday, Turkey and the two northern countries signed a memorandum lifting the blockade of the Turkish leader. On the eve of the summit, however, such a decision seemed to be on the way. But during the Ukraine war, in the eyes of its peers, Turkey did not risk spreading divisions within the Alliance.

The agreement reached takes into account Turkey’s concerns over arms exports and the fight against terrorism, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in the evening. “As NATO allies, Finland and Sweden promise to fully support Turkey in the event of a threat to its security.”he added.

Recep Tayyip Erdo ։an has blocked the accession process, which requires the consent of all allies to condemn Sweden’s tolerant policy towards the PKK. The Kurdish Nationalist Party considers Ankara and its allies a terrorist group. The Turkish President also criticized Stockholm-imposed arms exports to Turkey.

Regression for the Kurds

According to the memorandum, Sweden and Finland are obliged to make extraditions and change their legislation. Sweden also promises more arsenal “Difficult” from July 1. The two countries will also not support the YPG, the PYD, the active Kurdish movement in Syria, or the Gulen movement, which is accused by Erdogan of plotting a coup against Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. Jens Stoltenberg insisted that the procedures would respect European conventions. extradition. This is a new diplomatic setback for the Kurdish community, which was engaged in the fight against ISIS in Syria. For Sweden և Finland, which increasingly wants to join NATO as the Ukrainian crisis worsens, the price should have been paid, at least in the declarations of intent.

As of Wednesday, the 30 member states of the bloc may open the door to the membership procedure of Finland and Sweden, which requires a consensus. At that time, the integration of the two countries can be fast, as their armies are already largely in line with NATO standards. They are already holding joint exercises with the allies. To succeed, the membership of Finland և Sweden must be ratified by thirty other national parliaments.

“NATO door is open.”

Other NATO member states will not have to publicly slap their fists on the table. From the French side, we were careful during the discussions, making sure that we wanted to take into account the Turkish concerns, but without predetermining the agreement that could be reached. “We will watch”they said before the summit in Elisha.

With excuses related to Kurdish militancy, Turkey has other concerns to negotiate with its Western partners. Turkey has been left out of the US F35 aircraft program since acquiring Russian S400 air defense systems. But he still wants to modernize his fleet. Ankara is also tempted to launch a military operation in the Kurdish-controlled area of ​​northern Syria to create a kind of buffer zone there. But it can not decide on such an action without the tacit agreement of the powers of the region – the United States, but also Russia, an ally of Syria. The issue was to be included in the agenda of the bilateral meeting with the US President scheduled for Wednesday.

If the blocking of the membership process from May reveals the existence of a Turkish problem within the Alliance, NATO can claim success. “Vladimir Putin wanted less NATO, he will have more NATO.”, Jens Stoltenberg rejoiced. The message is that “NATO door is open.”, stressed the Secretary General. However, he did not apply to Ukraine. Ki’s membership in the Alliance is not appropriate.