Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will not ratify Sweden and Finland’s application for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) “until the promises made” by the two countries are fulfilled.
“Until the promises made to our country are fulfilled, we will maintain our principled position,” Erdogan said in the Turkish parliament.
The president, who has threatened to block the two countries’ accession to NATO since May, added that his country is closely monitoring “whether the promises made by Sweden and Finland are kept or not, and of course the final decision rests with our great parliament.”
Erdogan stressed the importance of “fighting terrorism”, citing his accusation that the two countries are protecting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the YPG, which Ankara classifies as terrorists.
It is noteworthy that 28 of the 30 members of the alliance have ratified the accession of Sweden and Finland.
It remains for Hungary and Turkey to agree to this and convey this approval to the parliaments of the two countries.
Sweden announced that it had re-authorized the export of military equipment to Turkey, which was considered a remarkable concession to Turkey to secure its agreement to join the Atlantic, since these restrictions were in line with the conditions set by Ankara.
Source: AFP