Turkey, a member of the Atlantic Alliance, has threatened to veto the entry of Sweden and Finland after accusing the two countries of maintaining ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been at war for decades. Considers a “terrorist group”.
In an interview with the Finnish television channel Yle, Pekka Haavisto said her country would continue talks with Turkey, but that the deadline had been significantly extended.
However, Helsinki was confident of resolving the dispute between the two countries, as he could assure Ankara that relations with the PKK would be closely monitored, as requested by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Of course we can give these guarantees to Turkey. As the PKK is considered a terrorist organization in Europe, it is important to prevent terrorist activities in Finland as well. It is important that we do our part, ”said Becca Havisto.
Finland cannot extradite PKK members or persons associated with the organization to Turkey if it decides that this decision is against the rule of law.
“Political decisions do not affect the functioning of the judiciary,” the foreign minister underlined.
Finland and Sweden submitted applications to join NATO on Wednesday.
Stockholm and Helsinki have expressed interest in joining NATO since security deteriorated due to the war in Ukraine that began with the Russian invasion on February 24.
