ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he would confirm Finland’s admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) first, out of Finland and Sweden.
“Maybe we will send a different message to Finland (about the request to join NATO). Sweden will be shocked when they see our message, but Finland is Sweden. “We shouldn’t make the same mistakes he did. “
Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership last year after Russia invaded Ukraine. All member states need to ratify the acceptance of both countries, but Turkey and Hungary have not yet done so.
Turkey has specifically accused Sweden of harboring members of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), something it has banned.
“We have given a list of 120 names to Sweden and asked them to deport these terrorists,” said Erdogan, referring to the agreement that Turkey had with Finland and Sweden as a condition of their NATO membership. If not done that, it will be a pity (for not being able to join).”
Turkey suspended talks with Finland and Sweden on NATO membership last week. There were protests against Turkey in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.
