Erdogan says Turkey will not allow ‘terrorism-supporting’ states join NATO
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will not allow “terrorism-supporting” countries enter NATO, days after Sweden and Finland submitted official bids to join the US-led military alliance.
Late Saturday, Erdogan said last week's Turkey-hosted talks with Finland and Sweden about their NATO membership bids “did not happen at the desired level” and that Ankara could not say yes to “terrorism-supporting” countries.
“Unfortunately, the talks held by our delegation with Finland and Sweden were not at the desired level,” he told reporters on his plane following a trip to Azerbaijan.
“They are not honest or sincere. We cannot repeat the mistakes made in the past on (admitting) countries that embrace and feed such terrorists into NATO, which is a security organization,” Erdogan added.
Russia’s ongoing military operation in Ukraine, which began on February 24, sparked security concerns in both Nordic countries, prompting Stockholm and Helsinki to seek membership in NATO.
Turkey, a member of NATO since 1952, has accused Sweden, and to some extent Finland, of providing sanctuary to elements linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as well as the Gulen movement, which Ankara accuses of involvement in a 2016 coup attempt.
Both groups are considered “terrorist” groups by Turkey. The PKK is also on the “terrorist” lists of the US and the EU.
Additionally, Sweden and Finland, among others, also placed restrictions on arms exports to Turkey after its military offensive against the US-supported People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria in 2019. Ankara views the YPG as an extension of the PKK.
The Turkish government has called on Stockholm and Helsinki to take concrete actions and stop what Ankara calls supporting terrorist groups in order for Turkey to agree to their NATO membership bid.
All 30 NATO members must unanimously agree on admitting new members, so that they can benefit from the pact’s collective-security guarantee.
Sweden and Finland have already said that they denounced terrorism and welcomed the possibility of coordinating with Turkey.
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