This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Turkey’s president has told journalists he still intends to block Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said meetings this week with Finnish and Swedish delegations had not been “at the expected level,” noting there had been no steps taken to alleviate Turkey’s security concerns.
“As long as Tayyip Erdogan is at the head of the Republic of Turkey, we cannot say ‘yes’ to countries that support terror joining NATO,” he told journalists on his plane following a visit to Azerbaijan on May 28, according to the daily Hurriyet newspaper.
Turkey challenged the bids from Sweden and Finland on the grounds that they harbor people linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and others it deems terrorists, and because they halted arms exports to Ankara in 2019.
“They are not honest or sincere. We cannot repeat the mistake made in the past regarding countries that embrace and feed such terrorists in NATO, which is a security organization,” he said.
Sweden and Finland have said they condemn terrorism and welcomed the possibility of coordinating with Ankara.
All NATO members must approve the two Nordic nations’ historic bid to join the alliance, propelled by alarm at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey, which commands the second-largest army in the alliance, has said it won’t allow their accession unless steps are taken, including a lifting of restrictions on weapons sales to Turkey.
Erdogan added he would be speaking by phone with Russian and Ukrainian leaders on May 30.
