Not so fast: Erdogan still holds cards on NATO bids by Sweden, Finland
If conditions are not met, Turkey's president says it is "out of the question" that the Turkish parliament will take up Sweden and Finland's NATO membership issue; avoiding a further US-Turkish meltdown; is Syria invasion on hold?
Agreement could falter on Turkish extradition requests
NATO announced this week with great fanfare that an agreement among Turkey, Sweden and Finland had "paved the way" for Finnish and Swedish membership bids, breaking a monthslong impasse.
As we reported here Wednesday however, the "trilateral agreement" reached in Madrid hardly makes membership a done deal: it merely allows invitations to be extended, and in the process codifies Turkey’s conditions for membership.
"In between the lines, the text unequivocally addresses almost every single point raised by the Turkish side in its objections to Sweden and Finland's NATO bids," writes Cengiz Candar. "In addition to its wording, the overriding spirit of the document favors the Turkish approach."
