The Turkish Foreign Minister said today that Sweden and Finland should stop supporting terrorist groups in their countries, provide clear security guarantees and lift export bans to Turkey for NATO membership.
Speaking after the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that he met with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts and they were all trying to alleviate Turkey’s concerns.
He added that Turkey does not threaten anyone or seek influence, specifically referring to Sweden’s support for the Kurdish militant group PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
Finland confirmed on Sunday that it will apply for NATO membership, and Sweden is expected to do the same in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Turkey’s concerns may be an obstacle, as any decision on NATO enlargement requires unanimous approval by all 30 member states.
“It is absolutely necessary to have security guarantees here. They need to stop supporting terrorist organizations,” Çavuşoğlu told Turkish journalists in Berlin. He added that the bans of Sweden and Finland on the export of some defense industry products to Turkey should come to an end.
Our stance is completely clear and unequivocal. “This is not a threat, not a negotiation in which we try to strengthen our interests,” he said.
“This isn’t populism either. It’s clearly about two potential member states’ support for terrorism, and our solid observations on this are what we share.”
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan surprised NATO allies and Nordic countries on Friday when he said Turkey could not support NATO’s expansion plans because these countries are “home to many terrorist organisations”, but the spokesperson told Reuters on Saturday that Turkey had not shut the door. period.
source: Noticias
