Finland–Turkey relations
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![]() Finland |
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Diplomatic mission | |
Embassy of Finland, Ankara | Embassy of Turkey, Helsinki |
Finland–Turkey relations are foreign relations between Finland and Turkey. Finland has an embassy in Ankara and an honorary consulate general in Istanbul and other honorary consulates in Adana, Alanya, Antalya, Belek, Bodrum, Izmir, and Kayseri. Turkey has an embassy in Helsinki.
History[]
The Ottoman Empire recognized the independence of Finland on February 21, 1918. Diplomatic relations between them were established on September 12, 1926. Relations between the two countries were described as being friendly though due to geographical separation, co-operation was limited. The first ambassador to Turkey was established in 1931 and an embassy in 1940. Finnish President at the time, Urho Kekkonen, made a state visit to Turkey in 1971, being the first Nordic head of state to visit Turkey in 250 years. Finnish tourism to Turkey increased in the 1980s, when destinations were established first to Marmara region and later to Alanya and Side. Finland was among the first countries to support Turkey's accession to the EU.[1]
In 2008, the Turkish embassy in Helsinki was set on fire. The day prior to that, a Kurdish demonstration was staged by the embassy. Four young men of Turkish-Kurdish background were brought into custody. The Police stated it was politically motivated.[2]
In 2020, a Finnish citizen was arrested in Turkey, being suspected of having links to ISIS. Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs reported that it was aware of the arrest but refused to comment on it.[3]
In October 2021, in the wake of the appeal for the release of Turkish activist Osman Kavala signed by 10 western countries, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered his foreign minister to declare the Finnish ambassador persona non grata, alongside the other 9 ambassadors.[4] However, the ambassadors did not receive any formal notice to leave the country and Erdoğan eventually stepped back.[5]
In 2022, Turkey opposed Finland joining NATO because according to Turkey it hosts “terrorist organisations” which act against Turkey (including the PKK, PYD, YPG and Gulen movement).[6] Turkey has demanded Finland and Sweden to extradite alleged terrorists linked to the Gülen movement and the Kurdish militant group PKK. By June 2022 Finland had received 10 extradition requests, of which two were handed to the Turkish authorities. There are around 16,000 Kurds in Finland, some of them being from Turkey.[7]
Relations[]
Turkey is an important trading partner for Finland. Trade between the two countries totaled $1.3 billion in 2018. Turkey is among the most popular tourist destinations for Finns, with 230,000 Finns travelling to Turkey in 2015.[8] As of 2021, there were 11,392 people in Finland of Turkish background, of which 8,841 were born in Turkey and 2,551 in Finland.[9] Around 2,000 Finns live in the Alanya region alone.[10]
State visits[]
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Guest | Host | Place of visit | Date of visit |
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Helsinki, Finland | 7–9 October 2008 |
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Istanbul, Turkey | 6 October 2009 |
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Helsinki, Finland | 19–20 October 2010 |
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Ankara, and Şanlıurfa, Turkey | 29–30 March 2011 |
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Helsinki, Finland | 5–6 November 2013 |
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Ankara, and Istanbul, Turkey | 12–15 October 2015 |
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Helsinki, Finland | 6 April 2016 |
See also[]
- Foreign relations of Finland
- Foreign relations of Turkey
- EU-Turkey relations
- Finnish diaspora
- Turks in Finland
- Turks in Europe
References[]
- ^ "Kahdenväliset suhteet" (in Finnish). Finnish embassy in Ankara. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "Turkish Embassy in Helsinki Defaced". yle news. YLE. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "Finnish citizen arrested in Turkey, suspected of involvement in terror group Isis". yle news. YLE. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "Turkey to declare 10 ambassadors 'persona non grata'". dw.com. 23 October 2021.
- ^ Gall, Carlota (2021-10-25). "Turkish President Steps Back From Expulsions of 10 Western Diplomats". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
- ^ Toksabay, Ece; Lehto, Essi (13 May 2022). "Erdogan says Turkey not supportive of Finland, Sweden joining NATO". Reuters.
- ^ https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12463469
- ^ https://pxweb2.stat.fi/PxWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__smat/statfin_smat_pxt_13gp.px/
- ^ "Origin and background country by language, age (1-year) and sex, 1990-2021". Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "Ollilat asuvat upeasti Alanyassa: Maksoi vähemmän kuin yksiö Kalliossa" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
External links[]
- Finland–Turkey relations
- Bilateral relations of Finland
- Bilateral relations of Turkey
- Bilateral relations stubs