NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on Sweden and Finland to tighten their anti-terrorist legislation and expand cooperation with NATO.
Stoltenberg argued that this was crucial for Turkey, which, he argued, was susceptible to terrorist attacks from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is banned in the nation.
“For Turkey, this is important, as it is the NATO country that suffers the most from terrorist attacks and is therefore concerned about this,” Stoltenberg told Swedish media.
Stoltenberg argued that this was crucial for Turkey, which, he argued, was susceptible to terrorist attacks from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is banned in the nation.
“For Turkey, this is important, as it is the NATO country that suffers the most from terrorist attacks and is therefore concerned about this,” Stoltenberg told Swedish media.
He emphasizes that NATO countries internally have different views on terrorist organizations such as the PKK. He called for “proportionate” measures and stressed Turkey’s right to defend itself against terrorist acts.
Stoltenberg added that NATO accession usually takes a long time and lengthy discussions so that all member states can find mutually beneficial solutions and called the processing of Finland and Sweden’s bids “abnormally” quick.
The secretary general referred to the fact that 28 out of the alliance’s 30 member states have already given the green light to the Nordic countries’ membership. Hungary said it had no objections and pledged to officially endorse the bids by mid-December.
Turkey, a member since 1952, remains the only NATO nation to block the bids. As of now, both Stockholm and Helsinki are in talks with Ankara to dispel its concerns over their alleged support of Kurdish organizations which Ankara labels as terrorist, including )the organization of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen (FETO), the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), and the Syria's People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey alleges is an offshoot of the PKK.
Not only has Ankara accused the Nordic nations of harboring Kurdish rebel groups outlawed in Turkey; it also provided Stockholm and Helsinki with a list of people it wants extradited — an issue bound to become sensitive for Sweden, which has modeled itself as a champion of human rights.
In a bid to assuage Ankara, Sweden and Finland earlier this year already lifted the ban on arms exports to Turkey introduced over Ankara’s engagement in Syria against Kurdish militias. The new Swedish government led by the liberal-conservative Moderates also distanced itself from the YPG and Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), both of which Sweden had previously supported. In yet another indication of a change of course, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström called the two organizations “dubious” and said their ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party were “too close”.
Internally, the lengths to which Stockholm has gone to appease Ankara were met with criticism from the opposition and human rights organizations.
Finland and Sweden’s dual NATO bid put a formal end to decades of non-alignment, which in recent years remained in name only, as both countries kept edging their way to the US-led alliance through overseas operations, bustling arms cooperation and joint drills.