Turkey will not agree to Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership without taking “concrete steps” from them regarding its security concerns, a senior Turkish presidency official warned on Wednesday.
Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for the Turkish presidency and close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, received delegations of diplomats from these two countries sent to Turkey to try to convince Ankara, which opposes their joining the Atlantic Alliance. The meeting lasted five hours.
” We have clearly told our interlocutors that the process will not proceed until Turkey’s security concerns are addressed, with concrete steps and within the specified timetable. “
Our interlocutors have noticed and they will send (their report) to their governments. We will resume conversations once we have received their responses to our requestssaid Mr. Kalin.
Turkey accuses the Nordic countries, especially Sweden, which has a large community of Turkish exiles, of the siege by Kurdish militants from the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers ’Party, which it considers a terrorist organization.
He also denounced the presence of supporters of preacher Fethullah Gülen, whom he suspects orchestrated in the coup attempt in July 2016.
Ankara now demands that the two countries take concrete steps re the organizational, financial and media presence of terrorist organizationsadded Mr. Kalin.
The spokesman also reiterated Ankara’s requests for the extradition of people associated, according to it, with the PKK or the Gülen movement.
Mr. also said. Kalin to herself optimistic regarding the removal of restrictions imposed by Stockholm on arms exports to Ankara, adopted in October 2019 following Turkey’s military operation in Syria.
We noticed a positive attitude on this subject, he declared, being judged not to inappropriate to impose sanctions between allies.
Time does not force us.[…] It is unacceptable for us to see certain processes that are ignored and things are rushed.He added.
Stockholm wants to top ambiguities
We don’t pay money to terrorist organizations, of course, or weaponsSwedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said earlier at a press conference in Stockholm.
The Swedish leader showed his desire to rise ambiguities in the matter found in the Turkish accusations.
Turkey, a member of the Atlantic Alliance since 1952 and therefore in a position to prevent any new entry, published a list of conditions on Monday to remove this surprise blockage.
Ankara is calling specifically for the extradition of people on Swedish soil who it describes as terrorists of his sworn enemy the PKK and its YPG branch in Syria.
The Turkish government also accuses Stockholm of announcing 376 million dollars in aid in favor of the PKK and YPG, and of providing them with weapons, especially anti-tank weapons and drones.
Sweden and Finland filed their historic candidacies for the European Union last week.NATOwho turned away from decades of military alignment due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
If the Turkish blockade threatens the two countries, Ankara’s grievances will primarily target Stockholm.
Source: Radio-Canada
