Türkiye, Sweden, Finland continue talks about two Scandinavian countries’ NATO bid
ANKARA
Turkey, Sweden and Finland are continuing to talk about the two Scandinavian countries’ NATO bid, a Swedish daily said on Tuesday, referring to the September 2 meeting between the three countries.
The Turkish delegation claimed that Sweden has not fulfilled what the countries agreed upon in the settlement during the NATO summit in Madrid in June, says Aftonbladet with reference to Swedish officials.
The daily added that the Turkish delegation also showed photographs from demonstrations in Sweden where the flags of the terrorist group PKK were waved.
“The meeting was constructive and held in good spirit, but the Turkish delegation continued to criticize several points that the Swedish side partly thinks are incorrect. Therefore, these meetings have been partly about clearing up misunderstandings,” the officials told the daily.
Türkiye gave no information whatsoever about when the country might approve Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO applications, the daily reported.
In May, Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO, a decision spurred by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
However, Türkiye, which has been a member of NATO for more than 70 years, opposed the two countries’ membership aspirations due to their tolerance and even support for terrorist groups, including the PKK and FETO.
In its more than 35-year campaign of terror against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, the EU and the UK – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
FETO orchestrated the failed coup on 15 July 2016 in Türkiye, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.
Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state by infiltrating Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
On June 28, the trio signed a trilateral memorandum at the NATO summit in Madrid to address Turkey’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership.
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