"Standing Committee": Turkey checks compliance with the NATO conditions imposed on Sweden and Finland
Created: 2022-07-22Updated: 2022-07-22 05:27
By: Christoph Gschossmann
Join yes or no?
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (back left), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson signing the memorandum of Turkish approval.
© Bernat Armangue/dpa
Although Turkey has agreed to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, Ankara wants to keep a close eye on the conditions for this.
Ankara / Munich – Turkey has said “yes” to Sweden and Finland joining NATO – but this yes does not apply unconditionally forever.
Ankara wants to set up a new "standing committee" to check whether the NATO accession candidates Sweden and Finland are complying with the conditions for joining the military alliance.
Meeting of Turkey with representatives from Sweden and Finland in August
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a television interview on Thursday: "If these countries do not implement the points contained in the agreement we have signed, we will not ratify the accession protocol." Cavusoglu further said that the committee will meet Swedish and Finnish representatives in August.
No ratification vote can take place before October as the Turkish parliament has already gone into summer recess.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously threatened to block Sweden and Finland from joining NATO if the two countries failed to meet Turkey's demands.
NATO expansion: Turkey demands extradition of PKK members
The country on the Bosporus is demanding, among other things, the extradition of dozens of "terrorist" suspects from Finland and Sweden.
This refers to members of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the movement of the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, whom Erdogan blames for the 2016 coup attempt.
After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Sweden and Finland broke with their decades-long tradition of military alliance neutrality and applied for NATO membership in May.
All 30 NATO countries must agree to this - including Turkey.
On July 5, representatives of the 30 NATO member states signed the accession protocols necessary for the admission of Sweden and Finland.
Germany and numerous other NATO countries have already given their approval for the northern expansion of the defense alliance.
(cg with dpa)
also read
Putin's view of Ukraine "very exaggerated": military expert sees "first signs" of a radical step
Ex-Merkel adviser will soon see an irrevocable advantage for Putin - "Then we no longer need to negotiate"
NATO member Turkey has given up its opposition to Finland and Sweden joining. But the anger reverberates – and has reasons, as expert Günter Seufert explains.