A green light, but at what cost? After several weeks of negotiations, Turkey ended up lifting its veto on the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO on Tuesday 28 June. The announcement was made on the eve of a summit of I’Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty in Madrid, devoted to Ukraine and during which the process of accession of the two Nordic countries will be launched. Ankara has so far accused Stockholm and Helsinki to harbor militants of the Kurdish organization PKK, which Turkey considers an organization “terrorist”. Explanations.
1Why was Turkey blocking Sweden and Finland from joining NATO?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused these two countries of harboring members of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. The PKK, which campaigns for the autonomy of Turkish Kurdistan, is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, but not by Sweden or Finland. Stockholm has received many political refugees since 1980, “many of whom are suspected by Turkey of being PKK militants”, explained in May Elise Massicard, specialist in the political sociology of contemporary Turkey, to France 24.
Above all, Ankara accused the two countries of not having approved, over the past five years, any of the requests for the extradition of people whom it accuses of being members of terrorist organizations, in particular supporters of the preacher Fethullah Gülen, suspected of having orchestrated a coup attempt in July 2016. Finally, the Turkish president demanded the theof the embargo on arms sales to Turkey, imposed in 2019 by Sweden, Finland and several other countries, after Ankara’s offensive against Kurdish militants in Syria.
2What concessions has Ankara obtained?
“Turkey got what it wanted”that is to say the “full cooperation” Nordic countries against the PKK and its allies, the Turkish presidency said in a statement. In fact, Sweden and Finland have signed a trilateral memorandum*, in which they undertake “to fully support Turkey against threats to its national security”. The two countries, which have granted numerous concessions to Ankara, affirm in particular that the PKK is a terrorist organization” and undertake to “to fight against the activities of the PKK”.
Sweden and Finland also promise to put in place “an extradition agreement with Turkey” and examine “quickly and thoroughly (…) pending deportation or extradition requests from Turkey”provided that they respect “the European treaties”reports the European news site Politico*. The two countries also commit to “don’t help” the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia in Syria, or the movement associated with Fethullah Gülen, Fetö. Ankara also announced its intention on Wednesday to ask Finland and Sweden to extradite 33 people.
3What are the reactions to this agreement?
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the agreement, saying the organization was sending “a message to President Putin”, reports Bloomberg*. He added that if the Russian head of state “wanted less from NATO, it finally has more, on its borders”. The United States also welcomed the lifting of the Turkish veto. For British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the accession of the two Nordic countries will make the Alliance “stronger and safer”.
Swedish Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, hailed a “very important step for NATO”. But many indignant reactions were heard in his country. The agreement worries in particular the Kurdish community of the country, which numbers nearly 100,000 people. “The government sacrifices the Kurds of Sweden to become a member of NATO”, was thus scandalized the socialist deputy Linda Snecker, quoted by The world.
the President Finnish, Sauli Niinistoseeming to anticipate negative reactions, meanwhile affirmed in a communicated* that, despite the agreement, “Finland naturally continues to operate in accordance with its national legislation”, particularly in matters “counter-terrorism, arms exports and extraditions”.
* Links followed by an asterisk are in English.