Turkey allows Finland to join NATO, but Sweden does not. Turkish President Erdogan continues to call on Sweden to extradite some Kurds living there, Turkey sees them as terrorists and allegedly involved in the failed 2016 coup attempt. The burning of a Koran by a Swedish politician- Danish far-right in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, good luck with this setup.
According to BNR foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg, Turkey is separating the two countries with this attitude. “With this commitment to Finland, Erdogan is also joining a long-standing discussion among Finns.”
So far the point of view has been: together at home together. Finland would prefer to unite Sweden together, but according to Hammelburg, the Finnish government has some doubts about this. “Last week it was proposed to postpone the case for about six weeks so that the discussion calms down a bit. And you should hope so.”
Elections
Turkey is on the eve of presidential elections, which will be held on May 14. And Erdogan is less fit than he would like, says Hammelburg. “By attacking Kurdish terrorists in another country with a nationalist campaign, he hopes to win votes and jump in the polls.”
There is a chance that NATO membership negotiations will proceed more smoothly once these elections are over. Incidentally, Turkey is not the only NATO country that has yet to give an agreement on the accession of Sweden and Finland, Hungary must also agree. “The actual collaboration is already there, it would be nice if an agreement could be reached soon, but it wouldn’t be a big deal if it takes a little longer.”
However, Hammelburg believes that postponing the decision “isn’t a bad idea”, “NATO has been around for a long time”. And if the pressure is to be applied, he will have to go to Turkey to leave those poor Finns alone, because they are at a loss.
Dialogue
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said last week that he wanted to resume talks with Turkey as soon as possible. The Finns would prefer to join NATO together with the neighboring country, but if that takes too long, they are considering joining on their own. Apart from Turkey, Hungary has not yet taken a decision on the accession of Sweden and Finland. Parliament should do it in February.
Dutch Consulate closed
The Dutch consulate general in Istanbul is temporarily closed to the public due to the growing threat of an attack on Western targets. A Foreign Ministry spokesman cannot say how long people will be unable to travel to the representation in the Turkish city.
Over the weekend, the ministry already said Dutch people in Turkey should avoid rallies and other large gatherings because they can turn violent. The ministry has no indications that there is a threat to individual Dutch travellers.
The consulate is still reachable digitally. The embassy in Ankara also provides consular services.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
