The speaker of parliament says Helsinki cannot change its law and hand over “innocent people” to allay Ankara’s concerns about terrorism.
Finland’s top legislator has refused to persuade Turkey to approve the country’s NATO membership bid, saying parliament cannot change the law and return it. “Innocent People” Whom Ankara considers a terrorist.
Parliament Speaker Matty Vanhanen, a former prime minister, made the remarks in an interview with Finnish public broadcaster Yale on Saturday, in response to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s claim that NATO applicants had granted asylum to people affiliated with the Finnish and Swedish Kurdistan Workers’ Party. , Or PKK, which Ankara thinks “Terrorist.” Erdogan said earlier this week that he would veto the NATO bid of the two Nordic countries – requiring the military alliance’s unanimous consent to accept new members – at least in part because they refused to hand over the PKK.“Terrorist”In Turkey.
“On issues related to our rule of law, Turkey must understand that we cannot agree [change them] Politically “ The old man said. “Innocent people are not extradited to another country, especially if there is a risk that they will be imprisoned or punished without due process.”
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Turkish and Finnish leaders are expected to hold talks on Saturday. In addition to concerns about PKK members, Ankara has demanded the extradition of FETO members to Finland and Sweden, a group supporting the opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Erdogan has called on the two countries to lift arms embargoes on Turkey and re-enter the F-35 warplane program for Ankara, from which it was expelled in 2019 for buying Russian S-400 Surface-II. -Air missiles. He also accused Sweden of using Kurdish militias against Turkish troops.
Although Erdogan spoke more harshly about Sweden, Vanhanen said that Finland would remain united with Stockholm in the accession process, even if it could be an easy path to approval on an individual basis. “The bond between Finland and Sweden is strong,” He said. “It simply came to our notice then. We do not abandon our partners. “
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The two-time presidential candidate told Yale that he was confident Finland would join NATO, and “Time will tell.” How long will the process take? For matters other than extradition, Vanhanen said, “We must find out exactly what Turkey expects.” He added that talks with Ankara would show just how specific the debate is, rather than Finland and Sweden. “Something in NATO.”
Finland, which shares a 1,340 km (832-mile) land border with Russia and fought against the Soviet Union in 1939, has maintained its military neutrality since the end of World War II. Sweden has been militarily neutral since 1814, a generation after its last costly war with Russia. Residents of both countries have historically opposed joining NATO, but public opinion has changed sharply since Russia launched its military campaign against Ukraine in February.
Instead of cutting an expected peace dividend after the end of the Cold War in 1991, NATO extended its reach to the Russian border in defiance of its forward-looking expansion promise. The bloc has added 14 new members since 1999 and is seeking NATO membership in Ukraine and another former Soviet republic, Georgia.
