Turkey hints at accepting Finland’s application to join NATO
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Istanbul : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has indicated that his country may approve Finland’s application for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership before taking any action on Sweden. The Turkish government has issued a travel warning against European countries, calling the anti-Turkish protests ‘Islamophobia (fear against Islam).
Last weekend, an anti-Islam activist set a copy of the Quran on fire outside Turkey’s embassy in Sweden and pro-Kurdish groups demonstrated against Turkey. Following the incident, Turkey issued a travel warning on Saturday. After these incidents, Turkey’s stance against Sweden’s application to join NATO has become tougher.
Sweden and Finland have jointly applied to become members of the military alliance. Turkish President Erdoğan indicated in a recorded statement at an event on Sunday that Turkey may approve Finland’s application. “If need be, we can give a different message about Finland,” Erdoğan told a group of youths in Bilecik province. Sweden will be shocked when we have a different message for Finland. Turkiye has accused the government in Stockholm of being too lenient towards groups it considers terrorist organizations or existential threats, including Kurdish groups.
‘Addition of a new member to NATO requires the unanimous approval of the existing members. Erdoğan’s government said it would agree to accept Sweden’s application only if it fulfills its promises. In its travel warning for citizens, Turkey’s foreign ministry cited “intensification of protests against Turkey by groups with links to terrorist organizations”. Turkey was referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK. Along with that, the European Union and the US have also declared the PKK a terrorist organization.
Erdoğan said he told the Swedish prime minister, “If you really want to be part of NATO, you will eliminate these terrorists.” If you don’t eliminate these terrorists, we can’t do anything. Turkey’s foreign ministry has urged its citizens to exercise caution and stay away from protest areas in Europe. The Nordic countries separately issued updated travel guidelines for Turkey before Turkey issued its travel warning. Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden urged their citizens traveling to Turkey to avoid large gatherings and to take precautions. Sweden’s foreign ministry said Sweden’s embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, would remain closed and visitors to the country’s consulate in Istanbul were “requested to exercise caution”.
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