NATO Says Türkiye's Terrorism Concerns are 'Legitimate'

Published SEP 20 2022

Story

Image credit: Getty Images [via Business Insider]

The Facts

NATO Sec. General Jens Stoltenberg said Sun. that Türkiye's concerns are "legitimate" and acknowledged Türkiye as being the NATO member that has suffered the most terrorist attacks of any member of the alliance.
Al Jazeera
In a joint press conference after meeting Finland's Pres. Sauli Niinisto, Stoltenberg declared that talks with Türkiye would continue, but didn't indicate progress had been made.
Al Jazeera
On Mon., Stoltenberg met Sweden's PM Magdalena Andersson.
Independent
This comes as Türkiye has rejected to endorse Finland and Sweden's NATO membership, accusing them of supporting Kurdish and Gülen-aligned "terrorist" militants.
ITN
Ankara has demanded the Nordic duo make policy changes before it reviews its position, including lifting arms export restrictions on Türkiye and extraditing members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
ITN
Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May following Russia's war in Ukraine but new memberships must be approved unanimously by the 30 members of the alliance.
Business Insider

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Sweden and Finland sympathize with the Kurds just as many Europeans do. The irony regarding Türkiye's complaints is that if they weren't already a NATO member, they wouldn't be allowed to join the alliance today due to their history of human rights violations and corruption.

Counter Currents

Narrative B

Türkiye is not threatening anyone or their allies or asking for anything unrealistic. Ankara is only expressing legitimate concerns about the Nordic countries' support of terrorist organizations such as the PKK and the unfair weapons export ban.

Daily Sabah