The Turkish representative stopped a vote on Finland and Sweden’s applications to join the North Atlantic Alliance, the world’s most powerful military coalition, which the two nations had officially submitted earlier in the day. NATO ambassadors hoped to agree on an accelerated accession process at the “classified” meeting in Brussels.
NATO should be able to approve the first stage of Helsinki and Stockholm’s applications before a meeting of its leaders in Madrid on June 28 but Ankara’s reservations call into question how smooth the Nordics’ plans, which are set to redraw the geopolitical map of northern Europe, can become a reality.
Turkey’s resistance is linked to its view the two countries harbour members of Kurdish militant groups it considers terrorist organisations.
At a news conference on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Neither of these countries have a clear, open attitude towards terrorist organisation. How can we trust them?”
His comments were primarily directed at the militant group the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Ankara regards as a terrorist organisation.
Sweden has a large Kurdish diaspora, with the community considered to be one of the largest outside of the Middle East.
In Finland, the Kurdish-speaking population was estimated at just over 15,000 people as of 2020 – less than one percent of the population.
Turkey also objects to the Nordcis’ decisions in 2019 to ban arms exports to Ankara over the country’s military operations in Syria.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has taken wider talks on the issue “offline”, sources told the Telegraph, with the chief said to be trying to overcome Ankara’s opposition through smaller meetings.
Hours before the Turkish veto, Mr Stoltenberg hailed the occasion, saying: “This is a historic moment, which we must seize.
“I warmly welcome the requests by Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
“You are our closest partners and your membership in NATO will increase our shared security.”
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