Finland's and Sweden's NATO Bids in Limbo as Turkey Objects

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- NATO failed to immediately move forward with the accession process for Sweden and Finland after Turkey, which earlier had outlined a broad list of complaints with alliance members, blocked the formal acceptance of the applications.

NATO ambassadors met Wednesday morning, but couldn’t agree to proceed with the applications after Turkey held up consensus, according to people familiar with the matter. Only after all NATO allies give consent can Sweden and Finland start accession talks with the alliance.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled earlier this week that he wouldn’t allow the Nordic nations to join, alleging they support Kurdish militants his government regards as terrorists. He added on Wednesday that his concerns extend beyond Sweden and Finland but also to how other NATO members handle the Kurdish groups.

“Our only expectation from our allies was that they should have approached Turkey’s efforts to protect its borders and establish its security the same way,” he told lawmakers of his ruling AK Party in parliament. “NATO’s expansion is meaningful to the degree our sensitivities are respected.”

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/finland-s-and-sweden-s-nato-bids-in-limbo-as-turkey-objects/ar-AAXpgih

[AZLD4Candidate]

1. Tayyip the Terrible strikes again!

Why not just blame Armenians too? Turkey has a long history of doing that.

[TheBlackAdder]

2. Didn't they recently side with Russia? Perhaps Dr. Oz could help. 🤣

.



.

[DENVERPOPS]

7. I would love for someone

who is familiar with all of this about Turkey to fill us in on the recent political history of Turkey........esp why it would damage NATO if Turkey withdrew....??????

[atreides1]

10. I can't think of any reason

If Turkey were to withdraw from NATO...I don't believe it would be a loss...perhaps it might be a gain! Two democracies for one autocratic country...seems like a fair trade to me!!!

[DENVERPOPS]

12. Exactly NC

[LudwigPastorius]

16. Turkey is a key part of NATO's European ballistic missile defense system.

They host long range radar that could be the first warning for missile launches from Russia or Iran, and interceptors that (in theory) could take out some of those incoming.

Plus, Turkey is the only muslim-majority NATO member.

[Johnyawl]

17. The radar (and the interceptors) could be moved to Romania, Bulgaria and the UAE.

"Plus, Turkey is the only muslim-majority NATO member." Why is this important?

If we throw Turkey out we should do a thorough housecleaning and throw Hungary out also.

[LudwigPastorius]

18. "Why is this important?"

Turkey's membership serves as an antidote to the claims that NATO is a Christian alliance.

This has become more and more important in the post-9/11 era, as civilizational and identity-related considerations have increasingly colored international politics.

NATO conducts military operations across the globe, and it doesn't want to be painted as a modern day 'crusader' biased against Islamic nations.

[ripcord]

19. So when are they booting out France and Germany for opposing Ukraine?

When are they booting the nations who are in breach of the NATO Treaty by not meeting the defense spending requirement? Now we have democrats trying to break up NATO not because countries have violated the Treaty or broken rules but because nation doesn't agree with them.

[yaesu]

3. Another putin puppet strikes again, nt

[Jilly_in_VA]

4. Erdogan can just go pound snd

He's about as much of an "ally" as the Saudis. Just as reliable.

[Beastly Boy]

5. Turkey is the Manchin of NATO.

They will squeeze every concession out of NATO before they remove their objections.

[riversedge]

11. IF they remove their objections. Looks dire at this point.

[IronLionZion]

6. Kurdish people have been screwed over and over again

they can only take so much.

[efhmc]

8. No wonder Putin said no big deal.

[ripcord]

9. The problem is that he is technically in the right

As long as the EU has the PKK on their Terror List.

[mahina]

13. That's enough out of you Turkey.

By that standard United States shouldn’t be a part of NATO. They were our allies and we abandoned them.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

14. 🖕🏻🇹🇷 ❗️

[mahina]

15. Putin's puppet says what? Fancy that, and who benefits?

Shut up new kid.

[Mysterian]

20. There are a lot of good people in Turkey

who need to get a better president than this asshat fascist Erdogan.

[JohnSJ]

21. I think President Biden should cancel the F16 sale to Turkey

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-says-potential-f-16-sale-turkey-would-serve-us-interests-nato-letter-2022-04-06/

[yaesu]

22. Why has Erdoğan doubled down on threat to veto Nordic Nato bids? The guardian live feed

Patrick Wintour
After initial hesitation about the seriousness of Turkey’s objections, its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has doubled down on his threat to veto Finland’s and Sweden’s applications for membership of Nato, saying there is no point in either country sending delegations to Ankara to persuade him otherwise.

On Wednesday, he also extended his demands from the two he outlined on Monday to 10, leading to claims that he is using blackmail.

At his press conference on Monday, he made two key demands: that Finland and Sweden end their supposed support for the Kurdish Workers’ party (PKK), which Turkey regards as a terrorist organisation, and that they lift their ban on arms exports imposed in October 2019 after the Turkish incursion in northern Syria.

No one doubts that Erdoğan’s intervention could tangle Nato up in knots for months. It is now the task of alliance diplomats to establish Erdoğan’s seriousness and the price that would have to be paid to make him back down, and prevent a full-blown Nato crisis.

[ripcord]

23. It isn't only Turkey that considers the PKK to be terrorists

As long as they are on the EU's terror list there are going to be problems with Sweden harboring its members.

[christx30]

24. Disband NATO. Form NATO 2.0. Exclude Turkey.

Move weapon system to nearby countries that embrace western ideals, and anyone that something to lose from an aggressive Russia.

[BrightKnight]

27. That is not how the Cold War works

and Putin wants to play Cold War v2.0.

[867-5309.]

25. "Turkey to reject Sweden and Finland's bid to join NATO"

Turkey has told allies that it will reject Sweden and Finland's membership to NATO, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in a video posted on his Twitter account on Thursday.

https://www.reuters.com/world/turkey-has-told-allies-its-no-sweden-finlands-nato-bid-erdogan-2022-05-19/

[BrightKnight]

26. There are a lot of Countries in NATO and none of them

will be happy about his shake down game. He might get away with it in the short run but I’m guessing they will eventually pay a price.