Ministers from Turkey, Finland and Sweden will meet to discuss their differences over the two Nordic countries’ NATO memberships
By Elena G. Sevillano (Berlin). “I am sure that we will find a solution,” assured Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavesto this Saturday upon his arrival for the informal meeting with his counterparts from the NATO countries in Berlin. Both Finland and Sweden, which are preparing to apply to join the Atlantic Alliance, are invited to this meeting, convened by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, to discuss the conflict in Ukraine with their partners. The meeting comes just a day after NATO member Turkey expressed its reservations about admitting the two countries, which it accuses of supporting armed organizations like the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Both Haavesto and Ann Linde, the Swedish foreign minister, confirmed that they will meet with Ankara’s representative Mevlut Cavusoglu to clarify “misunderstandings” on the sidelines of the meeting. Turkey has been a member of the alliance since 1952 and so far is the only partner that has publicly opposed expansion to include the two Nordic capitals. The accession of new countries requires the unanimity of all members of the organization.
Cavusoglu described the support of potential new NATO members for armed organizations such as the PKK as “unacceptable and outrageous”. “The problem is that these two countries are openly supportive […] to terrorist organizations that attack our troops every day,” the Turkish minister told reporters upon arriving at the meeting. “Most Turks are against the incorporation of these two countries and are asking us to block them,” he added, confirming that he would meet with the heads of Swedish and Finnish diplomacy this Saturday evening. “These are issues that we must of course address with our allies in NATO and with these countries,” Cavusoglu said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who was unable to attend the meeting in Berlin after testing positive for the coronavirus, has assured that the organization has open arms to welcome the two newcomers. The accession process would be accelerated when they finally submit the application. This week the Swedish and Finnish governments presented positive accession reports and are expected to take the formal step in the coming days.
Although the meeting was convened to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, to assess the military situation on the ground and the help that the alliance can provide to the Ukrainian army, this Saturday the only discussion will be about Turkey’s refusal to join Accept Sweden and Finland. Chancellor Olaf Scholz supported both candidates a few days ago. This Saturday, other countries also made it public upon arrival in Berlin. “We are 100 percent for Finland and Sweden if they decide to apply,” said Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeld. His Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly had spoken about this a few hours earlier at the G-7 meeting in northern Germany: “It is important that we reach a consensus. Not only do we want your income to be generated, we also want it to happen quickly; In the current circumstances, this is essential.”