Ankara will not approve the two Nordic states’ bids to join NATO until they properly address Turkey’s concerns over their alleged support of terrorist organizations, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated, promising not to repeat “past mistakes.”
“For as long as Tayyip Erdogan is the head of the Republic of Turkey, we definitely cannot say ‘yes’ to countries which support terrorism entering NATO,” the leader told reporters upon his return from a trip to Azerbaijan, according to state media reports on Sunday.
Delegations from Sweden and Finland met with their Turkish counterparts in Ankara for talks last week, following their joint applications to join the NATO military alliance. Their accession requires the unanimous consent of all 30 member states, and Turkey has threatened to block the process unless the two countries crack down on groups it considers terrorists.
“They are not honest or sincere,” Erdogan said about the talks’ results so far. “They don’t take necessary steps, they are still allowing the terrorists to freely walk in the streets of Stockholm and provide security to them with their police.”
“We cannot repeat the same mistake we did in the past towards these countries that shelter and feed these terrorists,” he added. He referred to a separate long-running feud with Athens over Cyprus, recalling how in 1980 Ankara “allowed Greece to return” after its partial withdrawal from NATO.