The Turkish president clashed with the Alliance’s Secretary General, who said Sweden and Finland fulfilled Turkey’s demands.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would not approve the formal membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO until the two countries take the necessary “steps”. He said this on Friday, November 4, in a conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Radio Liberty reports.
Erdogan again accused the two Scandinavian countries of giving asylum to representatives of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Turkey considers “terrorists”.
Erdogan and Stoltenberg held a private meeting in Istanbul, closed to the media.
“President Erdogan noted that the steps taken by Sweden and Finland will determine how fast the approval process … and when it will be completed,” the Turkish presidential office said.
By the way, before that, the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said that Sweden and Finland have fulfilled the requirements presented by Turkey for their entry into NATO, and therefore it is time to accept them into the Alliance. According to him, “in these dangerous times, it is more important to complete their entry to avoid any misunderstanding or miscalculation in Moscow.”
Earlier, Stoltenberg said that only two NATO countries did not approve the entry of Finland and Sweden into the Alliance – these are Hungary and Turkey.
Before that, Turkey said it did not see specific actions from Finland and Sweden, which would be necessary for Ankara to approve their NATO applications.
News from Correspondent.net on Telegram. Subscribe to our channel Athletistic
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.