Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, said on May 16 that his country could not approve Sweden and Finland’s membership in NATO because they put sanctions on Turkey in 2019 and have refused to hand over Kurds who Ankara thinks are connected to the PKK.
In exchange for letting Sweden and Finland join NATO, Turkey has asked European countries to end restrictions on the export of weapons and the US to lift sanctions on the purchase of Russian S-400 systems, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Ankara demands that Sweden and Finland “recognize its concerns about Kurdish militias – both inside Turkey and across its borders in Syria and Iraq,” according to three senior Turkish officials. They added that, in addition to declaring the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) a terrorist organization, all groups linked with it should be declared as well.
Apart from that, Turkey is said to have demanded that Sweden and Finland, as well as other European countries, lift the arms export restrictions imposed on Turkey following Operation Peace Spring in northeastern Syria in 2019, which aimed to push the Kurdish Defense Units (YPG) away from Turkey’s border and establish a “safe zone” to encourage Syrian refugees to return home.
Turkey has labeled both the PKK and the YPG as terrorist groups.
The Turkish government also has additional expectations from NATO. One of them is the continuation of the US F-35 fighter jet program, from which Ankara was barred after purchasing Russian S-400 systems. Additionally, Ankara demanded that the United States grant permission for the acquisition of dozens of F-16 aircraft and modification kits for its already-operating fleet.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously stated that Turkey cannot accept Sweden and Finland’s membership in NATO since these nations have refused to extradite “terrorists” and placed sanctions on Ankara. He went on to say that the two Nordic countries should not bother sending delegates to Turkey to persuade them of their bids.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in January that Finland and Sweden will be able to join NATO quickly if they want to. On May 18, Sweden and Finland will apply for NATO membership.
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