NATO and the United States (US) have announced that they are confident Turkey will not impede the membership of Finland and Sweden in the Western military alliance, despite Ankara (capital of Turkey) expressing reservations.

Turkey laid out demands on Sunday, May 15, 2022, on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Berlin, revealing that it wants the two Nordic countries to end support for Kurdish (an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia) militant groups present on their territory, and to lift the ban on sales of some arms to Turkey.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, disclosed that his talks with Swedish and Finnish counterparts in Berlin were helpful. The two countries made suggestions to respond to Ankara’s concerns, which Turkey would consider.

Cavusoglu added that he proved that “terrorists” are present on their territory. He singled out Sweden in particular, saying the Kurdish militant group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), banned as “terrorist” by the US and European Union, held meetings in Stockholm (Sweden’s capital) over the weekend. Nevertheless, he pointed out that Turkey did not oppose the alliance’s policy of being open to all European nations that wish to apply for NATO membership.

NATO’s Response

NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, disclosed that he is confident “that we will be able to address the concerns that Turkey has expressed in a way that doesn’t delay the membership”.

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on the other hand, declined to go into details after closed-door conversations on the issue in Berlin but echoed Stoltenberg’s position. In an interview with reporters, Mr. Blinken said “I’m very confident that we will reach consensus on that”, adding that NATO is “a place for dialogue”.

Finland, Sweden Announces intention to join NATO

On Sunday, May 15, 2022, Finland and Sweden took firm steps to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, breaking away from a tradition of non-alignment and neutrality.

Finnish President, Sauli Niinisto, confirmed that his country would apply to join. At the same time, Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats announced an official policy change that would pave the way for their country to apply within days.

Swedish Foreign Minister, Ann Linde, in a Twitter post, noted that “Today the Swedish Social Democratic Party took a historic decision to say yes to apply for a membership in the NATO defence alliance. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has deteriorated the security situation for Sweden and Europe as a whole”.