Provocations in Sweden behind Finnish decision to consider joining NATO without Sweden

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) - A top Finnish foreign policy adviser has criticized Quran burning in Sweden and other recent anti-Türkiye developments, adding that Finland’s foreign minister has now acknowledged that what happens between Ankara and Stockholm can also have a negative impact on his country.

On Tuesday, Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said the country may consider joining NATO without Sweden if the approval by Türkiye is further delayed.

Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last May, abandoning their long-standing non-alignment policy, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine that started in February 2022.

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Monday that Sweden should not expect support for its NATO application after it allowed the Quran burning outside Türkiye’s Embassy in Stockholm and after recent anti-Türkiye protests by Kurdish groups that support PKK terror group.

On Jan. 21, Rasmus Paludan, an extreme-right Swedish-Danish politician, burned a copy of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, under police protection and with permission from the authorities, drawing a wave of condemnations from across the Arab and Islamic worlds.

Henri Vanhanen, who was until very recently foreign policy adviser to Finland's National Coalition Party holding the third-most seats in parliament, told Anadolu that Haavisto's announcement is related to "what has recently been going on" between Türkiye and Sweden.

According to Vanhanen, Jan. 21 events and Erdogan's Monday statement are among the key issues that caused the Finnish government to reconsider its decisions related to NATO membership application process.

He said Helsinki is concerned that recent actions in its neighboring country could further “slow down Sweden’s NATO ratification,” and in turn, could negatively affect Finland’s chances to join the alliance.

Vanhanen, also a research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, said the idea that “Finland and Sweden going separately has always been a possibility” but at the same time, it is not something that Finland or NATO would like to see ideally. The Finnish foreign minister was “just stating an obvious reality that could take place,” he said.

Since the process of Finland and Sweden joining NATO began last May, “it's been quite obvious that there are perhaps more problems in the relationship between Türkiye and Sweden than (between) Türkiye and Finland,” Vanhanen expressed.

Haavisto’s announcement is about “acknowledging out loud, that what happens between Türkiye and Sweden can also have an impact on Finland as well,” said Vanhanen.

What Finland and Haavisto are trying to say is that “we understand that if there's a negative sort of turn in the process for Sweden, it also impacts us and if this continues, obviously, that will be a problem,” he added.

For now, Finland is in no rush to make any definite decisions in terms of having separate NATO talks with Ankara as the ratification is not expected before this summer, according to Vanhanen.

However, “if the ratification is still pending, after next summer, next fall, and if we're going to approach the end of the year, and still there is no clear path of how to solve this issue with Ankara,” then, “I think, we have to think about the situation differently,” he said.

“But there's a long way to that, so there's no need to rush.”

- 'Provocations' not helping anyone

Asked if he was surprised that recent developments that frustrated Ankara were allowed by Sweden in the middle of diplomatic negotiations, Vanhanen expressed that he “certainly” hopes that Sweden will find a “constructive way” to deal with the issues.

He also said the events that took place in Sweden are having negative impact on everyone in Finland and Sweden and that they are "totally unnecessary."

This he said is “very unfortunate.”

“I also do hope that even though there's the freedom of expression and freedom of media that Sweden, and also Finland, like to emphasize, there's also a responsibility, you can hold on to your values without being disrespectful for the other one.”

Vanhanen continued further explaining that he really hopes that one should remind themselves that “there's a responsibility that comes with the freedom of expression,” adding that he does not see the point in “such provocations right now.”

“It's not really helping the situation for everyone. So, I hope this is something that they think about it in Stockholm, and also something that perhaps Finland can also push Sweden to think about,” he said.

The government officials must understand that there will be moments when one has to deal with issues that you have a different view on, even among allies, it is just a “basic diplomacy,” he said.

“NATO is not just a rose garden, where you agree on everything,” Vanhanen noted, and I hope that in this process, “we will find respectful way to go forward.”

- PKK terror group not to be taken 'lightly'

PKK terrorism threat has been number one issue in the ongoing NATO discussions between Finland and Türkiye, and according to Vanhanen, the Nordic country is currently in the process of renewing its terrorism legislation.

“We do understand in Finland that when we join the alliance, we have to take into account all the potential threats to its members, Türkiye included,” he explained.

The PKK is defined as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the European Union, and United States, and “hence also in Finland," said Vanhanen. The terror group is responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Groups that are using acts of terror and are attacking civilians “are of course, naturally seen as a threat and it's not something that we think about lightly,” he expressed.

Once in NATO, Finland and Sweden should adopt a more comprehensive approach on different kinds of threats, including terrorism, Vanhanen said, referring to a recent trilateral deal with Türkiye.

Last June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum to address Ankara’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.

Türkiye, a longstanding NATO member, has voiced objections to the membership bids of both countries, criticizing them for tolerating and even supporting terror groups.

The trilateral deal requires that Finland and Sweden will not give support to terror groups, including the PKK, its Syrian offshoot YPG/PYD, and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) -- the group behind a 2016 defeated coup attempt in Türkiye. The deal also said Ankara extends full support to Finland and Sweden against threats to their national security.

All 30 NATO member states need to approve any enlargement of the alliance.