Erdoğan insists Turkey will not approve Sweden and Finland joining NATO

Photo: AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said late yesterday (May 16) that he will not say yes to Sweden and Finland's applications for NATO membership.

"Neither of these countries has a clear, open attitude towards the terrorist organizations," Erdoğan said at a press conference in Ankara, the capital.

"Even though they will announce that they are against terrorist organizations during this process, they still have statements which say the opposite about handing over some terrorists," he added.

Erdoğan defined Sweden as a "hatchery for terrorist organisations."

"They bring terrorists into their parliaments and let them talk there, they issue special invitations. Even there are supporters of PKK terrorists in their parliaments," he said. "How will we trust them?"

"They should not bother to come"

Diplomats from Sweden and Finland are planning to come to Turkey next week to talk about Turkey's objections.

"They should not bother to come," said Erdoğan regarding the visit by the diplomats. "Are they coming to convince us? They should not bother coming."

"First of all, we would not say 'yes' for their joining NATO, a security organization. They imposed sanctions on Turkey," he stated.

"Turkey's concerns need to be addressed"

After the statements from Erdoğan, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg spoke with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on the phone. Later, Stoltenberg shared a message from his official Twitter account about the conversation.

Noting that the talk was about Finland and Sweden's application for NATO, Stoltenberg defined Turkey as a 'valuable ally' and wrote: "Turkey's security concerns should be addressed."

Spoke with Foreign Minister @MevlutCavusoglu about the decisions by our closest partners #Finland & #Sweden to apply for #NATO membership. #Turkey is a valued Ally & any security concerns need to be addressed. We must stand together at this historic moment.

— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) May 16, 2022

Erdoğan's 'security concerns'

The "security concerns" that Erdoğan wants to be addressed is the situation of political exiles and immigrants in Finland and Sweden.

The president is asking the political refugees and immigrants in these countries to be arrested and deported to Turkey. According to the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), "Turkey demands the extradition of over 30 people from the two countries." (AEK/TB/VK)