Turkey calls on Sweden and Finland to fulfill their commitments on joining NATO
Ankara, August 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu urged Finland and Sweden to take “concrete steps” on their commitments that should be fulfilled before joining NATO.
“They have not yet fulfilled their commitments made in the documents (to join NATO),” Cavusoglu told the annual ambassadors’ conference, held in the capital Ankara to discuss Turkish foreign policy.
Finland and Sweden decided to join NATO after the outbreak of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine on 24 February.
However, their accession bid was initially blocked by Turkey, which accused the two countries of supporting terrorist organizations after they refused Ankara’s extradition requests for suspects affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Gulen movement.
The three countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 28 that addressed Turkey’s concerns at the NATO summit in Madrid, where Finland and Sweden pledged to support Ankara’s fight against terrorism and agreed to address the country’s “pending requests for the expulsion or extradition of terror”. suspect promptly and thoroughly”.
NATO member states, including Turkey, signed accession protocols for Sweden and Finland in early July, beginning the process of admitting the two Nordic countries into the military alliance.
The next step is for the parliaments of all NATO members to ratify their accession to NATO.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in July that his country would suspend Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO accession process if they did not keep promises on fighting terrorism.
“We want to learn why the necessary measures are not taken. There is no time pressure for us. Of course we have time pressure for the issue of terror, but eventually it is the countries that want to become NATO members,” Cavusoglu said on Thursday.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU, has been insurgent against the Turkish government for more than three decades.
The Gulen movement is led by and named after the US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen who is regarded by his followers as a spiritual leader.
The Turkish government accuses the movement of being behind the failed coup in 2016 in which at least 250 people were killed.
Source: IANS
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