Erdogan repeats that he does not support Finland and Sweden’s NATO bid until they “keep their word”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO will not be supported by Ankara unless both nations meet their commitments to tackle terrorism. At a meeting with Turkish ambassadors in foreign countries, Erdogan said that Turkey has a “clear and strong position” regarding Sweden and Finland. He claimed that the countries where members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK] “converting freely in the streets is harmful to the values of the alliance,” PAW reported.
Erdogan stressed that Turkey will not support Finland and Sweden’s membership in the military alliance until both Nordic countries “keep their word”. Notably, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan together with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson had reached a trilateral memorandum to address Turkey’s legitimate security concerns, which paved the way for Nordic countries’ NATO membership during the Madrid summit in June.
Sweden, Finland & Turkey sign trilateral memorandum
The memorandum was signed by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu together with his Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto and Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde in the presence of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Stoltenberg had welcomed the signing of the trilateral memorandum and called the Finnish and Swedish membership of NATO “good” for both the Nordic countries, NATO and European security. Earlier, Turkey had opposed Sweden and Finland’s Nato bid and accused Helsinki and Stockholm of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which Ankara sees as a “terrorist organization”.
Turkey, Sweden & Finland meet in August: Turkish FM
Earlier on July 21, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the officials from Turkey, Finland and Sweden will hold a meeting in August to analyze progress in meeting Turkey’s counter-terrorism requirements. TRT World reported with reference to TRT Haber. Cavusoglu said the meeting will be the first meeting of the monitoring committee that has been created under an agreement signed in July. He further stated that Turkey will not support Sweden and Finland’s NATO bid if they do not keep their promises. According to the trilateral agreement, Sweden and Finland will not support the PKK and its affiliates and consider them terrorist organizations. The two Nordic countries will stop the activities of the PKK and all terrorist organizations and their affiliates. Furthermore, Sweden and Finland are expected to work on the extradition of terror suspects to Turkey.
Picture: AP