Finland Tells Russia of NATO Plan, Downplays Turkey Concerns

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin to say the Nordic country will decide to seek NATO membership in the next few days.

© Bloomberg A soldier from Finnish Defence Forces holding a PK machine gun during the Finnish Army Arrow 22 training exercise, with participating forces from the U.K., Latvia, U.S. and Estonia, in Niinisalo, Finland, on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Swedes and Finns are increasingly in favor of joining the NATO defense bloc after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding pressure on the countries' leaders to change long-standing policies of military non-alignment.

The conversation with Putin “was direct and straight-forward and it was conducted without aggravations,” he said in a statement.

Earlier on Saturday, Niinisto pushed back against suggestions Turkey would prevent his country and neighboring Sweden from joining military alliance, given that the US supports the move.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Turkey doesn’t favor Sweden and Finland becoming members, citing concerns over Kurdish “terrorists.” NATO welcomes new members unanimously, and a decision to apply for entry is expected on Sunday from the two Nordic countries that pushed forward on plans to join the alliance after Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“I wouldn’t speculate at all that this would mean Turkey throwing a spanner in the works for good,” Niinisto said in an interview broadcast on Finland’s YLE TV1 on Saturday. “Until now, Turkey’s message to us has been completely the opposite,” he said, adding that “this is sure to lead to discussion, seeing as the US appears to have reacted.”

© Thomson Reuters Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (not pictured) hold a news conference, after signing a declaration between the UK and Finland to deepen their defence and security co-operation, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the Presidential Palace, in Helsinki, Finland, May 11, 2022. Frank Augstein/Pool via REUTERS

Turkey has long complained of insufficient cooperation from NATO and European allies in its fight with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is labeled as a terrorist organization by the US and European Union. Erdogan singled out Sweden and Netherlands of serving as havens for Kurdish militants.

Niinisto, who on Friday spoke with US President Joe Biden and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on a joint call, said Erdogan’s comments seemed to have taken Biden by surprise. The world’s strongest military power had later asked Turkey to clarify its comments, the Finnish leader said.

Niinisto’s remarks echo those of Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, who said Turkey hadn’t conveyed any concerns, and signaled the US would likely back a possible decision to join NATO.

“If we decide on that option I think we would get very, very strong support from large, important countries that are members, and that Turkey is interested in having good relationships with,” Linde told Swedish Radio on Friday.