By Darren Butler
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said talks with Finland and Sweden on joining NATO are not at the “expected level” and Ankara cannot say “yes” to “terrorism-supporting” countries, state television broadcaster TRT reported. Haber on Sunday.
Turkey has objected to the accession of Sweden and Finland to the Western Defense Alliance, supporting an agreement that would allow for historic expansion following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Erdogan’s latest comments show that his opposition continues.
“While Tayyip Erdogan is the head of the Republic of Turkey, we definitely cannot say ‘yes’ to countries that support the entry of terrorism into NATO,” he told reporters on his return from a trip to Azerbaijan on Saturday.
Earlier, two sources told Reuters that talks with Finnish and Swedish delegations on Wednesday had made little progress and it was unclear when further discussions would take place. All 30 NATO members must approve plans for NATO enlargement.
Turkey has challenged the offers of Sweden and Finland on the grounds that the countries are sheltering people linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and others it considers terrorists, and because they stopped arms exports to Ankara in 2019.
“They are not honest or sincere. We cannot repeat the mistake made in the past with countries that receive 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 coordination with Ankara.
“Diplomatic efforts are continuing. We are currently refusing to comment further,” Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde said in an email comment to Reuters following Erdogan’s latest statement.
Erdogan also said Turkey wants to see an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible, but that the situation is getting worse every day.
“On Monday, I will have telephone conversations with both Russia and Ukraine. We will continue to encourage countries to use channels for dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.
(Additional reports by Simon Johnson in StockholmEditing by Mark Potter and Nick McPhee)
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