Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicates that Finland’s NATO membership may be considered in connection with Sweden |
ANKARA, 29 january (Reuters) – Turkey the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan Finland before Ankara’s Sweden amid rising tensions with Stockholm on Sunday NATOindicated that he can agree to become a member.
“We can send a different message to Finland (their NATO in his application) and Sweden will be shocked to see our message. But Finland should not make the same mistake as Sweden”, – Erdogan he said in a televised speech on Sunday.
Sweden and Finland after Russia invaded Ukraine last year NATOhave applied for membership and all member countries must agree to become a member. Turkey and Hungary still North Europe have not ratified their country’s membership.
Turkey says Sweden, in particular, harbors militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara says took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.
“We gave Sweden a list of 120 people and told them to hand over those terrorists to their country. If you don’t hand them over, we’re sorry.” Erdogan He said referring to the agreement reached by Turkey with Sweden and Finland on NATO in June of last year. application.
A far-right politician burned a copy of the Koran in Stockholm last week protest after the action, Turkey stopped NATO negotiations with Sweden and Finland.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his country wants to resume NATO dialogue with Turkey, but Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Thursday that restarting talks was pointless.
Çavuşoğlu also said that “there is no proposal to evaluate the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland separately.”
Omar Berberoglu’s reportage; Written by: Hussein Lover of life; Edited by Ros Russell
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2023-01-30 02:41:18
Source – reuters
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