A Turkish spokesman spoke of a “pleasant development” after talks with Swedish and Finnish delegations in the Turkish capital. Before Turkey gives up its opposition to Finland and Sweden’s membership, the two countries must first address the terrorism that Turkey is concerned about.
PKK . terror movement
Sweden and Finland had banned arms exports to Turkey after Turkey’s 2019 offensive in Syria against the Syrian-Kurdish YPG militia. For Ankara, it is the same as the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK, which is considered a terrorist group.
–
–
Turkey surprised NATO allies last week by objecting to the accession of the two northern European countries. Ankara said Finland and Sweden are home to people with ties to the PKK, as well as supporters of Fethullah Gülen, accused by Turkey of an attempted coup in 2016.
All thirty NATO states must give their approval before a new member can join the alliance.
–
–
