NATO Must Fulfill All Turkey's Demands, Bahceli Says

NATO must fulfill all of Turkey's demands regarding the membership applications of Finland and Sweden; otherwise, Ankara will raise the issue of withdrawing from the alliance,” stated Devlet Bahceli, a member of Turkey’s parliament, ally of President Erdogan, and leader of the Nationalist Movement party.

Commenting on the situation surrounding Helsinki and Stockholm's NATO membership requests, he defended the Turkish president's position, who has set forth several conditions for the alliance’s approval of these countries’ membership. Bahceli called for all of Erdogan’s stated conditions to be met and declared that “Turkey is not helpless and has alternatives.”

“Even exiting NATO should be put on the agenda as an alternative option if the circumstances become unsolvable,” he emphasized.

Moreover, Erdogan's supporter accused NATO of disrespecting Turkey and suggested creating an alternative to NATO for Turkic and Islamic countries.

Bahceli also accused Finland and Sweden of supporting the FETO movement led by preacher Fethullah Gülen, which opposes the Turkish government. “How can they join NATO now? How will the nation accept this humiliation?” he stated.