Turkey Will Not Change Its Stance on Sweden and Finland's NATO Membership, Erdoğan

Turkey will not change its stance on the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland unless necessary measures are taken by them. This was stated by the President of the country, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Against the backdrop of events occurring in Ukraine, Sweden and Finland have submitted applications to join the alliance to NATO's Secretary General. Turkey has blocked the process of examining their applications.

Erdoğan previously stated that Ankara cannot say 'yes' to the membership of these countries, as it cannot trust their assurances regarding the absence of ties with representatives of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is banned in Turkey.

“Turkey wants these countries to support the anti-terrorism operations conducted by NATO members. Terrorism is a threat to all member states, and candidate countries must accept this fact before joining the organization. If they do not take the necessary steps, Turkey will not change its position regarding their membership,” Erdoğan emphasized in an article written for The Economist.