Turkey is playing let's make a deal:
NATO allies read Turkey’s wish list as Ankara holds up membership bidsTurkey’s main objection is to the presence of those it considers members or supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Sweden and Finland. Ankara has also complained of Swedish ministers meeting Syrian Kurdish politicians it accuses of having ties to the PKK.
Most of the Turkish protests seem to relate to Sweden, which has a large Kurdish diaspora. The Kurdish-speaking population of Finland was estimated at just over 15,000 in 2020, less than 0.3% of the population.
However, a day after Erdogan’s initial comments his spokesperson Ibrahin Kalin, who also acts as chief foreign policy adviser, said Turkey was “not closing the door” to Sweden and Finland. He added, “Of course we want to have a discussion, a negotiation with Swedish counterparts.”
Following a telephone call between Kalin and officials from Sweden, Finland, Germany, Britain and the United States, the Turkish president’s office said, “It was underlined that if Turkey’s expectations were not met, the progress of the process would not be possible.”