Her hopes Sweden And her Finland become members soon NATO they ran into a major hurdle due to her objections Turkeywhich vetoed the membership of the two countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The three countries reached an agreement on how to approach the issue last June in Madrid, but Recep Tayyip Erdogan said commitments were not being met, especially by Sweden.

In addition, this week the Turkish President postponed indefinitely the tripartite talks scheduled for February with Stockholm and Helsinki.

Of the 30 NATO members, only the parliaments of Turkey and Hungary have ratified the membership of Sweden and Finland, which are concerned about their security after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Why is Turkey on the way?

The Turkish side claims that Sweden, in particular, provides asylum to those whom Ankara calls members of the paramilitary organization of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), which in 1984 raised an armed uprising against the Turkish state.

The PKK is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, Sweden, the US and Europe.

Turkey is asking Stockholm and Helsinki to take a tougher stance against the PKK, as well as another group it accuses of attempting a coup in 2016.

In Madrid, Finland and Sweden agreed to step up their fight against terrorism, including speeding up procedures for the extradition and deportation of persons suspected of being members of paramilitary organizations. However, the Swedish courts blocked some deportations.

Tensions between Sweden and Turkey have also escalated over protests in Stockholm, which Ankara has called “hate crimes” under Swedish free speech laws.

“Sweden has taken into account many of Turkey’s concerns and will continue to abide by this tripartite memorandum … but for now it is clear that this is not enough,” said Paul Levin, head of the Institute for Turkish Studies at Stockholm University. .

What else is Ankara striving for?

Turkey’s elections are due in May, and in this context, many analysts see Erdogan’s stance on Sweden and Finland as an attempt to distract voters from the cost-of-living crisis and present himself as a leader with international clout.

Other commentators say the Turkish president may want to use the ratification of the two countries’ NATO membership as part of a deal with the US. Relations between Ankara and Washington are strained due to Turkey’s conflict with Kurdish militants in Syria, whom the United States supports in the fight against the Islamic State.

In addition, Turkey wants to buy F-16 fighter jets from the United States, which has raised objections from some members of Congress.

Diplomats, analysts and oppositionists say Erdogan is capitalizing on two recent events in Sweden: the burning of a copy of the Koran and the hanging of an effigy of it.

Can Finland join NATO alone?

Usually yes, but the defense of the country can be a difficult problem for NATO if it cannot gain strategic access to Swedish territory.

Sweden and Finland are eager to move forward together, but since Turkey’s anger is directed mainly at Stockholm, it is likely that the Finnish side will stop waiting and go it alone. The Finnish Foreign Minister and the Swedish Prime Minister have said that joint membership is a priority and that Finland will only consider an alternative scenario if Sweden’s membership is completely blocked by Turkey.

Would it help if NATO kicked out Turkey?

There is no formal mechanism in NATO’s constitution to exclude or expel member states, while Turkey is viewed by the Alliance as a vital strategic partner.

What will happen next?

Analysts expect the accession process to remain frozen until at least the end of the Turkish elections.

Even then, however, progress will be slow. The full implementation of the Madrid Agreement could take years, and the Swedish side said that some of Turkey’s demands could not be met.

Turkey’s national security issues will not be easy to resolve, and Sweden and Finland’s ability to influence events is limited.

However, both the two northern European countries and NATO want to avoid taking too long a process.

“Turkey’s actions right now are beneficial to Putin and … this is the problem of the entire Alliance,” Levin said.

^{Source: Reuters.}