The leader of the Turkish Motherland Party, Dogu Perincek, considers Sweden’s membership in NATO “dangerous” for Turkey and called on the deputies of the Grand National Assembly (parliament) to vote against it.
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On Monday, the administration of the Turkish leader reported that Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed that the Grand National Assembly (Parliament) of Turkey ratify the protocol on Sweden’s membership in NATO.
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The Motherland Party is a left-wing movement that follows the positions of the first President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and has an anti-Western and anti-American orientation. The party considers itself the successor to the Socialist Party of Workers and Peasants, created in 1919. It is not represented in the Turkish parliament, but is an influential force in the country, especially in the regions.
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“The admission of Sweden to NATO is the expansion of NATO to the east and north. The expansion of NATO in any direction is an aggravation of the threat to Turkey. Because NATO is not a security umbrella protecting Turkey, as systemic politicians say, but a source of threats against Turkey in on all fronts. It is the US and NATO that are pointing their guns at Turkey in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. It is the US and NATO that are attacking Turkey along with the PKK (banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey) and fanatical terrorist organizations in northern Syria and Iraq. It is the US and NATO imposed an anti-production economy on Turkey, which plunged Turkey into a foreign debt of 600 billion dollars,” the politician said.
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According to Perincek, NATO expansion means an increase in threats not only for Turkey, but also for Russia, Iran, even China, that is, for Turkey’s allies in the fight against US imperialism.
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“We, as the Motherland Party, consider Sweden’s admission to NATO membership extremely dangerous for the national unity and territorial integrity of Turkey. Members of the Turkish parliament cannot be NATO’s proxies. Be Turkey’s confidant! Even if Turkey remains alone among the 31 NATO members, it must show the will to veto. Moreover, it is clear that Hungary is also inclined to veto,” the politician noted.
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Finland and Sweden, against the backdrop of events in Ukraine in May 2022, submitted applications to join NATO. Finland became the 31st member of the alliance on April 4. Sweden’s application has still not received final Hungarian and Turkish approval.
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Sweden, as a member of the European Union, agreed in negotiations with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in exchange for ratifying the application, to help intensify the process of Turkey’s accession to the EU. At the same time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the issues of Sweden’s accession to NATO and Turkey’s accession to the EU “are not related to each other.” In August he said he was optimistic that Sweden would join the alliance this fall.
