President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned Turkey would not ratify the NATO membership bids of Sweden and Finland until the two Nordic countries “kept” promises they had made to Ankara.
“Until the promises made to our country are kept, we will maintain our principled position,” Erdogan said in a speech to parliament in Ankara.
“We are closely following whether the promises made by Sweden and Finland are kept or not, and of course, the final decision will be up to our great parliament,” he added.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February saw the two Nordic countries abandon decades of military non-alignment and in May apply to join NATO.
Although the Nordic countries hoped for a speedy entry, Turkey delayed the process by objecting to their membership.
Erdogan has accused both countries of being havens for Kurdish militants, specifically highlighting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and for promoting “terrorism”.
A deal was then…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
