ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Senior officials from Sweden and Finland held talks with their Turkish counterparts in Ankara on Wednesday for about five hours to try to overcome Turkey’s strong objections to the Nordic nations’ proposals to join. NATO.
Sweden and Finland submitted their written requests to join NATO last week. The move represents one of the biggest geopolitical ramifications of Russia’s war in Ukraine and could rewrite Europe’s security map.
Turkey has said it opposes countries ‘membership in the Western military alliance, citing grievances with perceived support from Sweden – and to a lesser extent Finland – for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and other entities. which Turkey considers security threats.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by several Turkish allies, has carried out a decades-long insurgency against Turkey, a conflict that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
The Turkish government also accuses Finland and Sweden of imposing restrictions on arms exports to Turkey and refusing to extradite alleged “terrorists”.
Turkey’s objections have dashed hopes of Stockholm and Helsinki to quickly join NATO in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and have jeopardized the credibility of the transatlantic alliance. The 30 NATO members must agree to admit new members.
The Swedish and Finnish delegations met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal. The Swedish delegation was led by Secretary of State Oscar Stenstrom, while Jukka Salovaara, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led the Finnish delegation, Turkish officials said.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said after a meeting with European Council President Charles Michel in Stockholm that her country wanted to “clarify” the claims that have been made during talks with Turkey.
“We don’t send money or weapons to terrorist organizations,” Andersson said.
During a press conference with the Estonian Prime Minister on Wednesday, Andersson said that “in these times, it is important to strengthen our security.”
He said Sweden had a “constructive dialogue” with Turkey and that Stockholm was “anxious to resolve issues, misunderstandings and questions”.
Michel, who is scheduled to travel to Helsinki from Stockholm, said it was “a key moment for Sweden” and “we fully support your election”.
Turkey this week listed five “concrete guarantees” it called for in Sweden, including what it said was “an end to political support for terrorism”, an “elimination of the source of terrorist financing” and a “cessation of terrorism.” “banned the PKK and a group of Syrian Kurdish militias affiliated to it.”
The demands also called for the lifting of arms sanctions against Turkey and global counter-terrorism cooperation.
Turkey has said it has requested the extradition of Kurdish militants and other suspects since 2017, but has received no positive response from Stockholm. The Turkish government claimed that Sweden had decided to provide $ 376 million to support Kurdish militants in 2023 and provided them with military equipment, including anti-tank weapons and drones.
Finland has received nine extradition requests from Turkey in a recent period of more than three years, the Finnish news agency STT said on Wednesday, citing data from the Finnish Ministry of Justice. Two people were extradited while six of the petitions were rejected. A decision on another case was pending.
Sweden has denied providing financial assistance or military support to Kurdish groups or entities in Syria.
“Sweden is a major humanitarian donor to the Syrian crisis through global allocations to humanitarian actors,” Foreign Minister Ann Linde told Aftonbladet.
“Cooperation in northeastern Syria is carried out mainly through the United Nations and international organizations,” he said. “Sweden does not offer specific support to Syrian Kurds or the political or military structures in northeastern Syria, but the people of these areas are, of course, involved in these aid projects.”
Speaking on Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the Baltic Sea Council, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russia had left Sweden and Finland with “no choice” but to join the NATO.
He said Germany would support the two countries’ accession, calling it a “real gain” for the military alliance.
__
Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Jari Tanner in Helsinki contributed to this report.
___
Follow the AP coverage of the war a