Turkey Threatens To Block Finland And Sweden NATO Bids
Ankara, May 17: Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Monday that his country will oppose the admission of Finland and Sweden into NATO, just hours after they declared that they would seek the membership.
President Erdogan said the two Nordic nations should not bother sending their delegations to convince Turkey, a key NATO member, to win its support for their bids. Erdogan expressed his anger because of the willingness of the Nordic countries to host Kurdish militants, describing Sweden as a “hatchery” for terrorist organisations.
He further added that “Neither of these countries have a clear, open attitude towards terrorist organisation. How can we trust them?” accusing the two Nordic nations of harbouring members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group it views as a terrorist organisation, and followers of Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.
All NATO member states must agree for a new country to join the military alliance, therefore Sweden and Finland require Turkey’s support in their bid to join the military alliance.
