But still a breakthrough when Finland and Sweden join NATO?

Erdogan is on the phone with his counterparts

Created: 05/22/2022, 04:50

By: Bettina Menzel

Because of the Ukraine war, Sweden and Finland want to join NATO, but Turkey blocks.

Erdogan is now on the phone with the two countries.

Russia, meanwhile, is alarmed.

The news ticker.

• Breakthrough in the planned NATO accession of Finland and Sweden?

  Erdogan calls Finland and Sweden.

• Erdogan

  still on the

  other hand

  : The Turkish President reiterated his negative attitude towards joining NATO in the midst of the Ukraine conflict

• Russia stops gas deliveries to Finland

  : Moscow has stopped gas deliveries to Finland.

• This 

  news ticker on Sweden's and Finland's plans to join NATO

   is constantly being updated.

Update from May 21, 5:57 p.m .:

Erdogan also phoned NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday.

"As long as Sweden and Finland do not clearly show that they stand in solidarity with Turkey on fundamental issues, especially in the fight against terrorism, we will not view these countries' NATO membership positively," Erdogan said, according to his office.

Stoltenberg commented on the short message service Twitter about his telephone conversation with the Turkish President.

"We agree that the security concerns of all allies must be taken into account and that talks must continue to find a solution," said the NATO Secretary General on Saturday afternoon.

Update from May 21, 4:37 p.m .:

Turkish President Tyyip Erdogan phoned his counterparts from Finland, Sauli Niinisto, and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Saturday.

In the conversation, Erdogan is said to have emphasized "that it is not in the spirit of the NATO alliance to overlook terrorist organizations that could pose a threat to a member," as the Reuters news agency reported.

He expects support for his fight against terrorist organizations "that threaten his national security and his people." In his view, Sweden and Finland should host people associated with the militant group the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), its Iraqi and Syrian offshoots and Linked to supporters of Fethullah Gülen, whom Ankara has accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.

Erdogan made it clear that he expects "concrete steps" from the two NATO accession candidates to allay his concerns.

In addition, the arms export embargo against Turkey should be lifted.

This was imposed on the Turkish state after its invasion of Syria in 2019.

Finnish President Niinisto said afterwards that he had held "open and direct" talks with Erdogan and said he was ready to continue the close dialogue.

According to a statement on Friday, Erdogan also wants to talk to the British on Saturday and then have a conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

NATO Secretary General: "Finland and Sweden will increase NATO's defense capabilities"

Update from May 21, 10.40 a.m .:

The former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen rated the northern expansion of NATO through the accession requested by Sweden and Finland as a historic step and a real strengthening of the alliance.

“Finland has one of the strongest armies in Europe, powerful artillery, and the number of troops, not to mention the reserve, is incredibly high.

Sweden has a powerful air force and significant naval capabilities.” So both countries would “bring in a lot,” according to Rasmussen.

"They will increase NATO's defense capability - especially with a view to the Baltic States."

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But still a breakthrough when Finland and Sweden join NATO?

Erdogan announces telephone calls

Ankara/Moscow - Will this phone call bring about a breakthrough when Finland and Sweden plan to join NATO as a result of the Ukraine war?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to call NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday because of his blockade of NATO accession.

He will talk to the Finns and the British on Saturday and "after that we will also talk to the Secretary General of NATO," Erdogan said on Friday.

"We will continue telephone diplomacy," emphasized the Turkish head of state.

Finland and Sweden joining NATO: Erdogan still opposed

But Erdogan also repeated his rejection of the two Nordic countries joining NATO.

"We cannot say 'yes'" to Sweden and Finland, Erdogan reiterated.

He accuses Finland and Sweden of being too lax towards "terrorist organizations" such as the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and of stopping arms deliveries to Turkey.

Under the impact of the Ukraine war, Sweden and Finland, after decades of military neutrality, had made a U-turn and decided to join NATO.

Originally, NATO had hoped that the ambassadors of the 30 member countries would be able to extend the invitation to Finland and Sweden very quickly after the application for membership.

Erdogan is now delaying the process.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to talk to the Finnish government about their plan to join NATO.

© Turkish Presidency via AP/dpa

Finland and Sweden joining NATO: Russia speaks of a threat

Meanwhile, Moscow's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has stressed that the planned NATO accession of Finland and Sweden poses a threat to Russia.

The situation on Russia's western border is characterized by a growing military threat, Shoigu said at a ministry meeting on Friday.

Finland and Sweden, as Russia's neighbors, have applied to be included in the military bloc, which means that tensions in Russia's western military district are now increasing significantly.

Twelve new military bases should be built there by the end of the year, Shoigu announced.

"At the same time, the US and NATO are increasing the extent of their operational and military preparations on our borders," Shoigu said.

Specifically, he also complained that the member states of NATO were holding a new maneuver in front of Russia's borders.

He was referring to the ongoing Defender Europe 2022 exercise.

Due to planned NATO accession: Russia stops gas supply to Finland - dispute over ruble payments

Russia suspended its gas supplies to Finland on Saturday morning as announced.

The Russian state-owned company Gazprom said that the Finnish utility Gasum did not pay its payments in rubles, as requested by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Gazprom, Finland received two-thirds of its gas from Russia last year.

That was a total of 1.49 billion cubic meters of gas.

The company in Espoo also informed on Saturday morning about the cessation of deliveries.

Gasum will supply customers with gas from other sources via the Balticconnector pipeline starting immediately and during the summer season, the statement said.

The network continues to function normally.

Previously, Russia had also turned off the gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria because they do not pay in rubles.

Because of planned NATO accession: Russia stops gas supply - Finland is relaxed

"However, we have carefully prepared for this situation, and if there are no disruptions in the gas network, we will be able to supply all of our customers with gas in the coming months," said Gasum boss Mika Wiljanen, according to the announcement on Friday.

According to Finnish Radio, gas accounts for only about five percent of the energy mix in Finland.

However, almost all of the gas comes from Russia.

According to Gasum, it was currently the only energy company in Finland to obtain gas directly from Russia.