Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has removed his objections to the applications for NATO membership submitted by Sweden and Finland, guaranteeing those two previously unaligned nations will join the West’s bulwark alliance against Russian aggression.
Sweden and Finland both announced in May they wanted to apply for membership of NATO. This historic step was unprecedented and something that the USSR could not threaten to achieve (Finland Announces That It Will Join NATO. Sweden To Follow. While Moscow Continues to Make Its Usual Threats). Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine did accomplish what Joe Stalin couldn’t in no small part because Putin began making noises about reestablishing the boundaries of the Romanov’s Imperial Russia (Did a Quickly Deleted Essay in Russian Media Explain What Vladimir Putin Wants Russia to Gain From the Ukraine Invasion? and Putin’s Threats to Sweden and Finland Are Much More Real Than They Are Being Given Credit For).
Just as things seemed settled–even Putin’s closest friend in NATO, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, approved of the new members (Hungary’s Viktor Orban Clears the Way for Finland to Join NATO in a Matter of Months)–Erdogan threw in a stink bomb.
Erdogan has voiced opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO in the past week, saying their support for the Kurds raises questions about adding the two countries as NATO members. A senior Turkish official told Bloomberg Friday that Turkey wants Finland and Sweden to take a clear stance against Kurdish militants fighting in southeast Turkey, and that Turkey will hold negotiations over their membership. Erdogan’s spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin clarified Saturday that Turkey isn’t attempting to block Finland and Sweden’s bids entirely, but wants to ensure that the national security of all NATO members is taken into consideration.
As the talks progressed, Erdogan demanded three things. He wanted to lift the arms embargo that Sweden and Finland had placed on Turkey in response to its ongoing conflict with Kurdish factions. He asked for Sweden to end all relations with the Kurdish PKK party. Finally, he wanted Sweden and Finland to extradite Kurdish militants as well as members of the Gülen Movement, whom Erdogan blames for a 2016 coup attempt.
Turkey joined NATO precisely because it has the Bosporus, Dardanelles and other important areas. That key bit of geography saved the Eastern Mediterranean from the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. This economic basket case has no common cultural, linguistic or political points with the West. Since the demise of the USSR, Turkey’s actions could frequently be mistaken for those of a Russian ally in the correct lighting. In the conflict in Syria, it cooperated with Russia. The country’s military links with Russia were so alarming that the F-35 grift was closed to it. Turkey has nearly gone to war with Greece several times over Cyprus and Greece’s exclusive economic zone n the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. In my personal opinion, Turkey’s possession of “The Straits” is less important than its political instability and inability to cooperate with NATO on major issues. Were it up to me; I’d give them their severance papers and let them deal with Iran as best they can.
Turkey declared that Sweden and Finland could join NATO the day before Madrid’s Summit.
“As NATO allies, Finland and Sweden commit to fully support Turkey against threats to its national security,” NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, providing some details of the agreement. “This includes further amending their domestic legislation, cracking down on P.K.K. activities and entering into an agreement with Turkey on extradition,” he added, referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party which seeks an independent Kurdish state on territory partly within Turkey’s borders.
Mr. Erdogan had been blocking the Nordic countries’ NATO bids amid concerns over Sweden’s longtime support for the P.K.K. Turkey’s non-military targets have been attacked and civilians killed. Mr. Erdogan was blocking the Nordic countries’ NATO bids amid concerns over Sweden’s longtime support for the P.K.K.
However, the memorandum is not specific about the extradition or sentencing of any 45 persons. Erdogan was requesting that they be taken to Turkey for trial on terror charges. Sweden already has tougher laws against terrorists that will be in effect July 1.
The European security arrangement will be permanently altered by this move. Both Sweden and Finland are bringing two well-equipped, highly respected and well-respected armies to NATO. Both nations have the potential to spend 2% of their GDP in defense, which is a goal that many NATO countries fail to attain.
Turkey’s acquiescence to a move that definitely hurts Putin’s expansion goals in the Arctic and goes a long way toward making Russia’s Northern and Baltic Fleets impotent and confined to port in case of a crisis with NATO. It means that Erdogan has decided that, for the time being, it is to Turkey’s advantage to cast his lot with NATO and not with his former BFF Vladimir Putin.
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