Over time, Turkey and its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan have created major challenges for Sweden and Finland’s NATO applications. On Sunday, Erdogan opened up about accepting Finland’s NATO application, but not Sweden.
Erdogan stated earlier this month that Sweden cannot expect support from Turkey for its NATO application. The statements came after Koran burning and large demonstrations at the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. The Swedish government has been very critical of the burning of the Koran, but Erdogan does not seem to have changed his view.
– Must consider something drastic
This causes the former national security adviser to former US President Donald Trump, John Bolton, to react strongly. He believes that Turkey is trying to sabotage Finland and Sweden’s applications, and that the country should be suspended or thrown out of NATO.
– I just hope that people in both countries don’t lose their patience. It is a form of blackmail. Erdogan behaves in the same way towards his own people, so it is hardly surprising that he behaves this way towards others, says Bolton in an interview with SVTs «Agenda».
Among other things, Erdogan has stated several times that Sweden supports the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), which is on the terrorist lists of Turkey, the EU and the US. One of the requirements he listed for Sweden to become a member of NATO was that Sweden must stop “financing terrorism”.
– Failed spectacularly
Bolton believes it is time for the NATO countries to make a decision whether they can take Turkey seriously as an ally. He believes the defense alliance must consider whether Turkey should be expelled or suspended.
– What I completely oppose is that you try to introduce your own oppressive system against another country. That is what Erdogan is trying to do, especially against Sweden, says Bolton.
Turkey expert and associate professor at the University of Oslo, Einar Wigen, believes it is a clear strategy from Erdogan’s statements.
– Erdogan is in election campaign mode, and is doing what he can to appear internationally active. This is about creating manageable controversies with clear contradictions between Turks in general, and some external enemy, says Wigen to Dagbladet.
He adds:
– This has not so much to do with the actual actions of the Swedes, but with how the Turkish president wants to evoke conflicting relationships in order to appear as the great protector of the Turks, he says, says Wigen.
– BLACKMAIL: Former Trump adviser John Bolton comes out strongly against Turkish President Recep Erdogan. Bolton is advocating that Turkey be thrown out of NATO. Photo: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais / NTB
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Critical
However, kicking a country out of NATO is not easy. There are no formal mechanisms for banning countries from NATO. In addition, Turkey is considered a very important ally for the defense alliance, writes Reuters.
Lecturer at Försvarshögskolan in Sweden, Magnus Christiansson also believes that it is not the way to go and should throw Turkey out.
– The idea that NATO should be dissolved as the situation is in Europe today, should mean that there are question marks about the presence of the USA and Article Five in a situation where it is really needed, says Christiansson in Agenda.
Article five implies that an armed attack against one of NATO’s member states must be considered an attack against all.
However, Bolton believes that one should wait until the elections in Turkey. Among other things, he expresses concern about whether Erdogan may try to steal the presidential election in May.
– If Turkey is denied the opportunity to have a free election, I think we have to consider something drastic.
Bolton also reacts to the fact that Turkey has purchased the Russian air defense system S-400, and believes that this also speaks for the country to be kicked out. Turkey received the first delivery of the weapon system in 2019, and that led to strong protests from NATO allies. Afterwards, the US, among other things, denied that Turkey would receive deliveries of F-35 fighter jets.
