Finland officially joined NATO, Sweden still waiting

Finland’s official accession to NATO as the 31st member on April 4 doubled the length of member states’ borders with Russia. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö announced on Twitter that a new era has begun in the country’s history and that the era of military non-alignment has ended. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated at the joint press conference that the aggression of Russian leader Vladimir Putin has amplified NATO. Russia, on the other hand, noted that Finland’s accession to the NATO military alliance was a dangerous historic mistake that would weaken security in the wider region, increase the risk of conflict, and force Moscow to take countermeasures.

Sweden’s application is still blocked due to the vetoes of the Turkish and Hungarian states. Both countries still have not ratified Sweden’s membership. Sweden, which for years was at the forefront of criticizing President Erdogan and Prime Minister Orban, among others, about human rights violations, is now being ‘isolated in a waiting room’ by the same leaders in order to be part of the alliance. Turkey claims to be outraged by Sweden’s hospitality to “radical Kurds”, but there was also controversy over anti-Turkish satire, the Erdogan puppet used at a demonstration, and the burning Quran in front of the Turkish embassy.

The rare extradition of a Kurdish asylum seeker and the ban on burning the Quran on national security grounds, which has been overturned, by the Swedish authorities to comply with Turkish demands, had drawn widespread criticism. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has called on Turkey and Hungary to ratify Sweden’s membership after Finland’s accession. However, Erdogan’s views are widely supported in Türkiye. The question is therefore whether Erdogan can reverse his decision before the elections on May 14. He shows the people that he has a lot of power within NATO and that he defends Turkish interests. In this sense, the news headline of the pro-government newspaper Milliyet after the accession of Finland, which was ‘Sweden is officially alone! ‘Take us too’, is also remarkable. Softening his attitude could damage the image of the Turkish President. Therefore, it is a matter of curiosity about how Erdogan will respond to Biden’s call.