President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pathetic Turki won’t change its position of refusing Finland and Sweden are members of the North Atlantic National Defense Alliance (NATO).
Erdogan said he had clearly told other NATO allies that Turkey would reject Finland and Sweden’s membership in the alliance.
“We will continue to implement our policies in a definite way. We have told allies that we will still refuse membership of Finland and Sweden. And it will remain that way,” Erdogan said in a video posted on his Twitter account Thursday (19/5). ).
Erdoan once again explained the reasons for Turkey’s refusal to join Helsinki and Stockholm to NATO. According to him, both countries host and finance “terrorists” to supply them with weapons.
“NATO is a security alliance and we cannot accept terrorists being in it,” Erdogan was quoted as saying Reuters.
Erdogan referred to political figures and activists accused of the failed coup attempt in 2016 and fleeing abroad, including Finland and Sweden.
Ankara also accuses Finland and Sweden of harboring terror groups including Kurdish militias which are blacklisted by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
Previously, Erdogan had also asked other NATO members to respect his position in this regard, especially regarding security concerns if Finland and Sweden entered the alliance.
Erdoan said the Finnish and Swedish delegations should not bother visiting Ankara to lobby Turkey to soften its membership in NATO.
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