Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, conveyed that talks with Finland and Sweden were not at the “expected level” and Turkey cannot rally behind countries which support terrorism.
Sweden and Finland have expressed their desire to join the collective security alliance NATO but only to face constant objections from Turkey which is a NATO member since 1952. Article 10 of the charter mentions that unanimous approval is required for any new country to accede to NATO. Therefore, Turkey’s objection to Sweden and Finland’s bid may halt the process indefinitely.
“For as long as Tayyip Erdogan is the head of the Republic of Turkey, we definitely cannot say ‘Yes’ to countries which support terrorism entering NATO,” he said to reporters on Saturday returning from Azerbaijan trip. Erdogan also said Turkey is not in the favour of war but Russia Ukraine situation is getting out of hands day by day. “On Monday, I will have phone class with both Russia and Ukraine. We will continue to encourage the parties to operate channels of dialogue and diplomacy,”
Why Turkey is objecting to the bid?
Turkey has alleged that Sweden and Finland harbor people who have links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant groups which are considered terrorists by Ankara. Moreover, Turkey seems upset over the halt of arms export in 2019 by Sweden and Finland.
Apart from that Turkey has got a chance to emerge as a major powerful nation as tension between East and West increases. Turkey may belong to NATO but it doesn’t fall in the West Club and relations between Washington and Ankara have been going through a tough time. In 2020 U.S. Imposed CAATSA sanctions on Turkey for buying S -400 from Russia.
Sweden and Finland’s Response to Erdogan:
Sweden and Finland have said they don’t support terrorism and looking to the possibility of coordinating with Ankara. Swedish Foreign minister Ann Linde has refused to comment on the issue calling it an evolving situation.
History of NATO enlargement:
If Sweden and Finland Join the NATO, they would be 31and 32 member. Looking back, in 1949 NATO was formed to counter Soviet expansion and uniting Europe. It only had 12 members in the beginning. These were the United States, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal.
In 2004 NATO witnessed the largest and one of most defining enlargements. Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined NATO and the latter three are the former members of the Soviet Union.
Russian adventurism and NATO:
Russians’ efforts to stop the enlargement of NATO, have been counterproductive. More than anything Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed many European states to consider about joining NATO. Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO is completely out of desperation and apprehensions about Russia’s aggressive behavior.
Future of Europe:
After the Cold War Europe witnessed a considerably peaceful time for 3 decades but Russian hostility has reinvigorated the security environment of Europe. Consequently, more states will join one camp or other to ensure their security.
For the last few decades, European states have spent one of the smallest amounts of GDP on their defence in comparison to other major economies of the world and it had been possible because of relative peace and trust of States in the rule of law.
European peace is dissipating to welcome more troubling times.
Edited By: Aaradhana Singh
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