Foreign Minister Baerbock's visit to the two countries will also deal with their intended NATO membership. So far, Turkey has blocked the admission. What's behind it?
The The relationship between Turkey and Sweden is – unlike here the national flags of the two states – anything but close at the moment
When Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock travels to Finland for talks this Monday and to Sweden a day later, one topic will be discussed in addition to aid for Ukraine: the intended admission of the two countries to NATO. Both Sweden and Finland had applied to join the military defense alliance following Russia's attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Actually, the historical step of the two traditionally militarily neutral countries to form a transatlantic alliance has already been decided. However, accession is subject to the approval of all 30 member countries, which also includes Turkey. Ankara had previously blocked the recording. Turkey has agreed to the northern expansion, but has not yet ratified the step. She has long harbored a grudge against Sweden in particular.
The country has recently been a little more open about Finland: “If necessary, we can give a different answer about Finland,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a few weeks ago. But where does the tense relationship between Turkey and the two northern countries come from?
Kurdish diaspora in Sweden
Relations between Turkey and the two Scandinavian countries are through dealing with from Ankara groups dubbed “terrorists”. These are mainly members of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the movement of the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen.
Protest on January 21 in front of the Swedish consulate in Istanbul. In Sweden, a right-wing extremist burned the Koran
Turkey accuses Sweden and Finland of being “havens for terrorists”. They are said to house “around 130 terrorists” whose extradition Erdogan is demanding. Ankara has given lists of suspected terrorists to Sweden and Finland, according to Turkey. How many extradition requests were made to Finland and how many to Sweden is not specified.
The significantly larger part of the alleged 130 “terrorists” should be assigned to Sweden. Because of the Kurds who flee Turkey for political reasons, many choose Sweden as their new home. According to estimates, around 85,000 Kurds were already living in Sweden in 2016. According to national statistics, there were just under 16,000 Kurds living in Finland – also the country with the significantly smaller population overall – in 2021.
Dispute over the extradition of “terrorists”
Turkey's media close to the government also repeatedly publish figures whose accuracy cannot be verified. The state news agency Anadolu reported in mid-May 2022 that in the past five years Ankara had requested the extradition of six suspected PKK supporters and six suspected supporters of the Gülen movement from Finland. Sweden, in turn, ordered the extradition of ten alleged Gülen supporters and eleven alleged PKK members.
Reluctant handshake: Swedish President Ulf Kristersson and Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a press conference in Ankara in November 2022
The extradition of journalist Bülent Kenes, an alleged member of the Gülen movement, was raised personally by Erdogan at a joint press conference with Swedish President Ulf Kristersson in Turkey in November. His extradition was refused by Sweden shortly before the end of the year. However, in early December 2022, Sweden extradited a suspected PKK member.
Neither Sweden nor Finland have official relations with the PKK, but classify them as a terrorist organization like most western countries and the EU. In the course of its fight for the rights of the Kurds in Turkey, the underground organization was repeatedly held responsible for bloody attacks.
Pressure from Ankara
Under pressure from Turkey, Sweden meanwhile also distanced himself from the armed Kurdish militia in Syria YPG. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said in November last year that his government no longer wanted to support the YPG and its political arm, the PYD. The two organizations are considered to be closely linked to the PKK.
The Gülen movement, on the other hand – accused by the Turkish government of masterminding the attempted coup in 2016 – is not considered a terrorist organization in Europe.
Turkey as “gatekeeper” to NATO accession
Im On June 20, 2022, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, Turkey signed a memorandum with Sweden and Finland in which the three countries wanted to intensify their cooperation in the fight against terrorism. But the way of fighting is different in the three countries.
Turkey expert Paul Levin explains in an interview with ARD that the terror legislation in Sweden is much more limited than in Turkey: “For example, it is not specifically forbidden to be a member of a terrorist organization. You have to prove that terrorist acts were planned or carried out. Likewise, freedom of expression legislation is very liberal, which ultimately means that the Swedish police cannot stop PKK supporters, for example, if they wave PKK flags in Swedish marketplaces.” The Turkish side sees this as tolerating the PKK, explains the director of the Institute for Turkish Studies at Stockholm University.
“Only one hostage in this drama”
Erdogan recently said: “We often see PKK events on the streets of these countries and warn the governments. So far they have not prevented these protests despite our warnings. They believe that Turkey would be the old one. No. If they oppose If such groups don't take action, our relationship with Sweden will become even more strained.”
The quote already suggests that Turkey actually cares more about Sweden than about Finland. According to expert Levin, Finland is “basically just a hostage in this drama, which is more about Swedish-Turkish relations”.
Turkey expert Hürcan Aslı Aksoy from the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) also told DW that Sweden is Turkey's main enemy due to the larger Kurdish diaspora. In view of the upcoming elections in Turkey, choosing such a tactic is one of the incumbent president's tactics: “Erdogan is trying to strengthen his conservative and nationalist base before the elections on May 14.”
After January  ;In Sweden a right-wing extremist burned a copy of the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm According to Aksoy, Ankara has fueled Turkey's anger at Sweden even further. For Erdogan, this is one more reason to continue blocking the country's NATO accession.
It is unclear how things will continue, especially for Finland: The Finnish government had recently indicated that even without Sweden to join NATO. A spokeswoman for the Federal Foreign Office said a few days ago that the goal of the federal government remains that Finland and Sweden would be admitted “promptly and together”.
This is an updated version from January 31, 2023.
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