Most likely, it will not be possible until the elections in Turkey Finland and Swedish entry NATO ratification, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said in the “Today’s Question” program of Latvian Television Edgars Rinkevičs (JV).
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“I would like to hope that there will be understanding from Turkey side that the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO is also in the interests of Turkey,” said the minister, expressing the hope that political and diplomatic relations in Turkey will not be interrupted until the elections.
The situation with Sweden’s accession to NATO has been complicated by the protest action that took place in Stockholm over the weekend, during which right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan burned a Koran at the Turkish embassy. In Rinkevič’s opinion, this case could be a well-prepared provocation.
The minister indicated that a third country – Russia – is probably involved in the provocation, and it is planned to discuss this case with the Swedish foreign minister, who will visit Latvia tomorrow, January 27.
At the same time, Rinkevičs expressed that “we want to see both Sweden and Finland in NATO and it would be good if they joined together”. Rinkēvičs also stated that he would like to work with both sides, but the minister refrained from predicting whether and how the situation would develop.
Turkey has indefinitely postponed the next round of negotiations with Sweden and Finland regarding the admission of the two Nordic countries to NATO.
The talks were scheduled for February, Turkish media reported, citing sources in Turkish diplomatic circles.
This decision was made a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Sweden should not expect Ankara’s support for its NATO membership.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May, but Turkey has set several conditions for both countries to meet before receiving Ankara’s support.
Turkey has demanded that Sweden extradite dozens of people, mostly Kurds, whom Ankara considers terrorists or complicit in the 2016 coup attempt.
However, the situation has been further complicated by the protest action that took place in Stockholm over the weekend, during which Paludan burned a Koran at the Turkish embassy.
The Swedish authorities had allowed this protest action, despite Ankara’s objections.
Turkey and Hungary are the last NATO members that have not ratified the admission of Finland and Sweden to the alliance, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has promised that this will happen in February.
