Turkey Could Block NATO Membership for Finland, Sweden

by | May 13, 2022

Turkey Could Block NATO Membership for Finland, Sweden

by | May 13, 2022

recep tayyip erdogan (2020 03 05) 02

Mikhail Klimentyev / Russian Presidential Press And Information Office / TASS

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s sole Asian member has suggested it could bar two Nordic countries from entering the alliance. 

On Thursday, leaders in Helsinki said Finland would apply for NATO membership “without delay.” Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, both Finland and neighboring Sweden have increasingly discussed joining the western military bloc. Stockholm is expected to follow Helsinki’s application sometime in the coming days. 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has previously said that both nations would be “very much welcomed by all 30 allies,” even suggesting their membership could be expedited. In April, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also declared that the White House “strongly supported” membership for the Nordic states. 

On Friday, however, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara couldn’t support the move, claiming that Finland and Sweden are “home to many terrorist organizations.” He added: “We are following the developments regarding Sweden and Finland, but we don’t hold positive views.”

For a country to join NATO, it must have unanimous support from all other members. Erdogan said his country regrets approving Greek membership after it rejoined the alliance in the 1980s, deeming it a “mistake.” Ankara and Athens have a number of ongoing territorial disputes, and even fought a war over Cyprus in 1974. 

The Turkish leader did not elaborate on his claims regarding terrorist cells active in Finland or Sweden, though he may have been referring to Kurdish groups which have clashed with Turkish forces in both Syria and Turkey itself. Western support for Kurdish militant factions in Syria has created tensions with Ankara for nearly a decade. 

Responding to Erdogan’s comments, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto called for patience and a step-by-step process as Helsinki presses its NATO bid, adding that he would meet with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Sunday to discuss the issue further. Sweden, for its part, said it remains confident it will secure backing from all NATO members to join the bloc, despite the Turkish resistance.

About Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter

Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. Will Porter is the assistant news editor of the Libertarian Institute and a staff writer and editor at RT. Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter host Conflicts of Interest along with Connor Freeman.

Our Books

latest book lineup.

Related Articles

Related

News Roundup 3/15/24

News Roundup 3/15/24

Russia Putin Threatens To Use Nukes as NATO Continues Sabre Rattling AWC  Macron Once Again Says NATO Shouldn’t Rule Out Sending Troops to Ukraine AWC Germany’s Scholz Says Sending Ukraine Taurus Missiles Would Be ‘Irresponsible’ AWC China Taiwan Confirms Presence of...

read more
News Roundup 3/15/24

News Roundup 3/13/2024

US News ‘Defend the Guard’ Legislation to Be Taken Up By Idaho State House AWC Biden Requests $895 Billion for Military Spending for 2025 AWC Maryland Lawmaker Attempts to Stonewall Bill to Block Deployment of National Guard in Undeclared War The Institute  House...

read more
News Roundup 3/15/24

News Roundup 3/12/2024

US News South Dakota Governor Signs Bill Into Law That Conflates Criticism of Israel With Anti-Semitism AWC White House Lobbies Against Ban on Purchase of Americans’ Data The Institute Europe Pentagon Says It Needs $10 Billion to Replace Weapons It Sent to Ukraine AWC...

read more
News Roundup 3/15/24

News Roundup 3/11/2024

US News F-35 Cleared To Carry Nuclear Weapons AWC Haiti White House Calls on Haitian Leader to Resign, Considers Sending Elite Soldiers to Embassy AWC US Evecutes Non-Essential Staff from Embassy in Haiti BBC Ukraine UK to Send Ukraine 10,000 Drones The Institute ...

read more
News Roundup 3/15/24

News Roundup 3/7/2024

US News Texas Republicans Vote Overwhelmingly in Favor of Restricting Combat Deployments of State’s National Guard AWC Pentagon Using AI Program to Identify Targets in Middle East and Ukraine The Institute  Ukraine Putin’s Draft Treaty Between Russia and Ukraine Did...

read more
News Roundup 3/15/24

News Roundup 3/6/2024

US News Idaho State Senate Passes Defend the Guard Act AWC Rep. Massie to Bring Julian Assange’s Brother to Biden’s State of the Union AWC Drone Whistleblower Daniel Hale Release from Prison The Dissenter Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty to Leaks that Exposed Failures of...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This