Talks between senior Turkish officials are ongoing, Finland and Sweden, at NATO headquarters[/B] in Brussels, in order to overcome Turkey's obstacles to the accession of the two countries.
Turkey is represented in the talks, which began yesterday, Sunday, by Turkish President Erdogan's close adviser Ibrahim Kalin and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedad Onal. Diplomatic sources consider it "positive" that Ankara has agreed to participate in this negotiation which the NATO secretariat and Secretary General Stoltenberg have been pushing for days to take place. Although no progress has been made so far, discussions will continue today and tomorrow in the hope of finding a compromise before the NATO Summit in Madrid (28-30 June).
Diplomatic sources believe that even if Turkey lifts its reservations on the accession of Sweden and Finland tomorrow, there is no time within a week to carry out all the necessary procedures for the accession process of the two countries to proceed and for them to be able to participate in the NATO Summit with the status of "observer" countries. Reaching a compromise, however, would be a "very positive development" if it finally happens before Madrid, the same sources commented.
According to the same sources, in case Ankara decides to stop the blackmail, the three countries will sign a joint statement responding to Turkish concerns about terrorism, as well as its request for Sweden to lift its arms embargo. Erdogan could "sell" this statement at home, saying that he came out of the negotiation as a winner. However, the demands Ankara still has from Helsinki and especially Stockholm to lift its security reservations on terrorism which are rumored to include even the resignation of Sweden's Foreign Minister Anne Lindt are impossible to meet, diplomatic sources believe. At the same time, as Turkey has more "open issues" with Sweden, while with Finland things look easier, no one wants Finland alone to go ahead with membership, as this would leave it exposed to the Russian threat.
As for the recent reports in the Turkish press that Erdogan will raise the issue of the demilitarization of the Greek islands at the Madrid Summit, diplomatic sources believe that this is unlikely to happen. First, because Turkish Defense Minister Houloussi Akar gave a positive image and promised a peaceful summer during his brief meeting with Greek Armed Forces Minister N. Panagiotopoulos at the last NATO Ministerial Meeting in Brussels. Secondly, because Turkey would create the image that, in addition to the other problems it has created, it is also threatening a NATO country.
The same diplomatic sources believe that Erdogan might raise the issue of demilitarization of the islands only if the problem with Sweden and Finland has not been solved by the Madrid summit. He would only do this if he wants to divert attention from the main problem, which is the integration of the two Scandinavian countries, and turn to Greece as a distraction. If this happens, the Greek side will explain, as always with equanimity, that the NATO summit is not the place to make such absurd claims, the same sources said.
Meanwhile, Kalin recalled... Greece in an attempt to justify Turkey's opposition to Sweden and Finland's NATO membership.
"Greece vetoed North Macedonia's membership for 11 years. Macedonia had to change the name of the country. After completing some steps, Greece said "yes" to Macedonia's NATO membership. Being a member of the alliance is an important step. It is extremely important that Sweden and Finland abandon this policy. They will review security rules and pass new laws. The faster they take steps, the faster the process will be. We will see it together in the coming days," Erdogan's spokesman said.
Source: APB
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