Sweden, Finland to continue negotiations in NATO membership bid

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On Monday, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that Sweden and Finland are furthering their efforts and will continue to negotiate with Turkey on their bids to join NATO. In addition, Andersson noted that the talks will take some time after Turkey blocked the start of their consideration of applications for NATO memberships. 

In a conversation with The Star, Andersson insisted that "Sweden and Finland will continue their bilateral and trilateral negotiations with Turkey in the near future, negotiations will take some time."

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish President, has refused to allow these Nordic states to join NATO without primarily taking into consideration their support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party and Kurdish YPG, both of which were designated as terror groups by Ankara.

Turkey cannot turn a blind eye

Stockholm had previously suspended arms sales to Turkey as a result of its military operation in Syria in 2019. This caused Turkey further discomfort in accepting Sweden and Finland’s bid to join NATO. More specifically, Turkey cannot trust the countries’ assurances, according to Erdogan, with representatives of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is banned in Turkey.

Erdogan stated that if Turkey agrees to the Nordic states’ bid for joining NATO, then it will no longer “be a security organization, but will become a place where there will be many representatives of terrorists." In other words, Turkey cannot give NATO a unanimous vote to accept the bids as that would threaten its national security, as per the Turkish President.

As such, Turkey is aware of the vital role it plays in NATO and various international organizations, and the discussion of some members regarding the possible lifting of sanctions could be the door toward a solution. For the time being, Erdogan confirmed, Turkey can neither ignore nor turn a blind eye to Sweden’s sanctions against Ankara.