Entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO: why is Turkey reluctant?

According to Didier Billion, there are a number of issues subject to negotiation. The first would be with regard to the United States. Ankara would like the sanctions imposed by Washington, in particular on arms deliveriesbe reviewed.

Turkey accuses Sweden and Finland of harboring PKK officials on its soil.

The second issue is the Kurdish question, explicitly cited by Erdogan. “Turkey accuses Sweden, and to a lesser extent Finland, of harboring on its soil officials of the PKK, the Kurdistan workers’ party. It is an armed struggle organization led by Kurdish nationalists. This organization has been at war with the Turkish state since 1984 and is described as terrorist by Ankara, but also by the European Union and the United States“, he explains.

Ankara could take advantage of the situation to relaunch its relations with NATO and the European Union.

In addition, Turkey could also ask to participate more in the political decisions of NATO. “For many years, relations between Turkey and NATO have been quite bad. This is one of the files that Turkey could take to try to take advantage of the situation: relaunch its relations with NATO, but also with the Member States of the European Union.”, he specifies.

To Note that this negotiation takes place in a context where Turkey is trying not to get too angry with Moscow. “Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Turkey has condemned this aggression. It closed the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. However, it does not apply economic sanctions against Russia. The economic stakes are of great importance, especially in the field of hydrocarbons, because Turkey does not have any and a large part of them comes from Russian deliveries.“, he analyzes.

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