Erdogan at NATO request: “Sweden, don’t try in vain!” Spectacular turn? Ironically, the SVP paves the way for the transfer of war material

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again announced that Finland will be allowed to join NATO without Sweden.

With regard to Finland, the process is viewed “positively”, Erdogan said at a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Wednesday. “But we are not looking positively at Sweden, it must be said.” Keep a close eye on this. “Sweden, don’t try in vain!” said Erdoğan. “As long as you and your security forces allow my holy book, the Quran, to be burned and torn apart, we will not agree to your joining NATO.”

Erdogan has been blocking the two Nordic countries from joining the Western military alliance for months. He accuses Sweden of supporting “terrorist organisations” such as the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK.

The background to the new tensions are various Islamophobic actions in Europe. In Sweden, for example, a right-wing extremist burned a copy of the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Ankara seized this opportunity to suspend talks on Sweden’s accession to NATO.

Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022 as a result of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. All 30 members must agree to join. Turkey and Hungary have not yet given their approval. Erdogan is currently in the election campaign. He hopes to be re-elected in the parliamentary and presidential elections, which are expected to take place in mid-May.

The accession dispute actually seemed to have been resolved a few weeks after the application was submitted: Sweden, Finland and Turkey had signed a memorandum at a NATO summit in Madrid that was intended to pave the way for the Nordic countries to join the alliance. However, Erdogan still does not consider it fulfilled – and the Northern Lights are threatened with another month-long wait due to the Turkish election campaign.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström confirmed on Wednesday that his country will implement the agreement. But: “Religion is not part of the deal,” he told TT news agency.

At the same time, he understands Turkey’s irritation at the incidents, which are certainly legal but otherwise disrespectful. Now is the time to calm the situation from all sides. Discussions with Turkey on the implementation of the agreement will continue at official level. According to Billström, you don’t compromise when it comes to freedom of expression. (aeg/sda/dpa)