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, İzmir, and Kayseri. Turkey has an embassy in Helsinki. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the Union for the Mediterranean.
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.
In 2008, the front door of 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. Finland stopped selling weapons to Turkey in 2019 due to Turkey's military operation in Syria. 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. In January 2023, Finland lifted its embargo on weapons exports to Turkey.
Osman Kavala dispute
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. Following a statement by the ambassadors, reiterating their compliance with Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations regarding the diplomatic duty not to interfere in host states’ internal affairs, President Erdoğan decided to not expel the ambassadors.
In October 2021, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin reacted sharply to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who declared his country's ambassador deported. And Marin also asked Erdoğan to implement the European Court of Human Rights decisions and to respect the ECHR judgments.