On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara will not approve Sweden and Finland’s bid for NATO membership over the Nordic countries’ alleged support for the PKK, a Kurdish group Turkey considers to be a terrorist organization.
Sweden and Finland also have imposed a ban on arms exports to Turkey over Erdogan’s offensive in northeast Syria in 2019. “First of all, we cannot say ‘yes’ to those who impose sanctions on Turkey, on joining NATO, which is a security organization,” Erdogan said.
Finland and Sweden need the consent of all 30 NATO members to join the alliance and are hoping to convince Turkey to drop its opposition.
Earlier in the day, Sweden said Swedish and Finnish officials planned to travel to Ankara to discuss Turkey’s concerns, but Erdogan said they shouldn’t bother. “They are coming to Turkey on Monday. Are they coming to convince us? Excuse me but they should not tire themselves,” he said.
On Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sweden and Finland must lift the arms embargo on Turkey and provide security guarantees on the PKK before Ankara could approve their memberships. Turkey also wants the Nordic countries to extradite suspected PKK members.
Cavusoglu attended a meeting of NATO foreign minister on Sunday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken also participated in. After the meeting, both Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said they were “confident” the alliance would accept Sweden and Finland despite Turkey’s opposition.
Erdogan is easily bought for the right price and some good looking goats…
I’m not a fan of Erdogan, but I come to antiwar for comments that are a little more high-brow.
So why low-browing the comment section then wise guy?
High-brow, medium-brow or low-brow… Its the dialogue that has me here.. By my lights, earthy low-brow sense trumps vapid high-brow pap nearly every time!! Out of the mouth of babes come words of wisdom…!!!!!
Why should he want the social democrat baby governments in Finland and Sweden to join NATO just because they hate conservative Russia and have their brains washed by the daily media propaganda this spring? That does absolutely nothing to increase security for anyone in NATO, or in Finland and Sweden. Just as little as bringing in North Macedonia.
And the socialist support for the Marxist, drug-smuggling, business-extorting, laborer-killing, child-soldier-using PKK is disgusting. They don’t mind that Syrian villages are ethnically cleansed in Syria, they just obey leftist Washington which wants the Kurds as a second Israel in the region.
If Turkey resists the threats, promises etc the rules of joining will simply be amended.
I think that you are wrong. I believe that there will be enough NATO members who will oppose the principle that you can be forced to go to war to defend a country that you do not want to protect in that manner.
True. Instead, Turkey will be bribed or threatened or both.
We will drop our objection to genocide of the kurds, most cynically stated.
Kurds are not angels. What magic is at work alliwing PKK to be in control of part of Turkey? Money, weapons, political protection? What majic was necessary to establish PKK offshoot in Syria, YPG. And for years weapons smuggling from US through YPG/ to PKK then aling Turkish bordet to AL-Nusra and whatever name took on. Syrian terrorists were armed and supplied through Kurdish network on both sides of border, Turkey and Russia dismantled it. establishing a security corridor. Sane games are played in Iraq now, where PKK is trying to recruit Kurds to oppose well established Peshmerga Kurds. Once upon a time Peshmerga Kurds were all the rage, glamorized in the West. But once they became disobedent and collaborated with Iraqi government. The leadership, Barzani clan also cooperated with Erdogan to stem infiltration of PKK into Iraq.
PKK Kurds are an enerprising groip, assisting Anglo-Zionist projects in the area. It is a deadly game in which it is ordinary Kurds thst pay and pay. The last thing PKK wants is peace and stability. There is a big business in instability, chaos. hatered. Seeding hate is a big business. Hard for enterprising Kurds to pass.
And the support structure for the chaos makers is vast — In Germany, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, etc. Erdogan is just saying what everybody knows well. The value-loaded European morality is less than meets the eye. Colonial instincts never die. Just the opposite — EU has accomplished the colonial mind-set spread and adopt by all EU nations, But doubts may be creeping in, and this is why elite is very desparste to tie the European countries much closer. NATO is accomplishing what. EU failed.
Turkey would be likely able and willing to veto such a rules change! Changing the rules is often and usually the most difficult to do in any origination.. too much like changing the constitution…!!!!!
More evidence of NATO “unity”.
EU expansion means NATO expansion. Turkey as a Black Sea Country actually has more of an interest. Was it Finland thaf already made a Defence agreement with the United Kingdom. They have a back-up.
So doesn’t this put the lie to Ukraine will join NATO idea? One vote against and it doesn’t happen.
The longer this takes the more chance that other NATO members oppose the accession…!
Yes, it only needs to take a couple of more months. By then the daily, extreme media propaganda in Finland and Sweden will be over. The headlines seen in the paper stands in every store are more hateful than toward anyone else since Hitler:
“PUTIN HOLDS SPEECH IN EXPENSIVE LEATHER JACKET”
“PUTIN’S MISTRESS HAS GONE INTO HIDING” (He’s not married, so why repeatedly call his girlfriend a “mistress”? Surely no coordination between the media there.)
“PUTIN ISOLATED, LASHING OUT” (His approval rating since saving Donbass has gone to 86%, the highest ever.)
“PUTIN, CZAR OR COMMISSAR?”
“PUTIN’S MENTAL HEALTH INCREASINGLY IN QUESTION”
“WHY PUTIN FEARS FREEDOM”
The low-IQ sheep seriously think Russia attacked Ukraine just for no reason at all, as they are never told about the bombing of Donbass and the gathered invasion army by its border. They believe Russia just wants to start war with EVERYONE because PUTIN IS CRAZY.
When eastern Ukraine is secured, and Donbass can’t be threatened again, the war will wind down. Then people can start being realistic again. Asking, why would we want to join NATO now with no Cold War? Why do it only to provoke Russia, with absolutely no benefits to Sweden or Finland, since Russia would never invade those countries and any NATO-Russia war would be fought with nukes?
Just stall the social democrat posturing for a few months more, Erdogan. Don’t just use this to get money and benefits, like you used the flood of Arabs to Greece to extort money from the EU.
Is NATO starting to fray along the edges…?????