Erdogan is blocking Sweden’s admission, accusing Stockholm of harboring what Ankara considers terrorists, particularly fighters from the Kurdish separatist armed group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO members that have yet to ratify Sweden’s admission, although it applied to join the alliance with Finland last year after Russia launched a renewed invasion of Ukraine. Finland became a member of the alliance in April.
Erdogan again expressed concern about Sweden’s attitude towards those accused of terrorism, asking “how can a country with terrorists on the streets (..) contribute to NATO”. But he also did not rule out giving the green light to Sweden’s NATO membership, which he will discuss with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson on Monday.
“On Tuesday, at the leaders’ summit in Vilnius, we will discuss (Turkey’s concerns) with our partners. We will make the best decision, whatever it is,” Erdogan said on television.
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2023-07-07 15:25:53
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