Talks Turkey had last week with Sweden and Finland about their desire to join NATO were not at “the expected level”. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said this, according to the state broadcaster TRT News said.
According to Erdogan, Turkey cannot agree to the accession of “countries that support terrorism”.
Erdogan strongly opposes Finland and Sweden’s possible NATO membership. According to him, both countries are said to be harboring terrorists, including Kurdish militants of the banned in Turkey PKK.
“They are not honest and sincere,” the Turkish president said TRT News against a group of reporters. “As long as I am head of the Turkish republic, we absolutely cannot say ‘yes’ to the accession of countries that support terrorism to NATO,” Erdogan said.
Report sources to news agency Reuters that little progress was made during the talks last Wednesday. It is still unclear whether the negotiations will continue later. Both Sweden and Finland have stressed in response to Erdogan’s statements that the country condemns all forms of terrorism.
Erdogan has announced new talks with Russia and Ukraine. These are scheduled for Monday. “We will once again encourage both sides to engage in dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.
–
