Erdogan on Sweden and Finland: We will not ratify the request to join NATO if they do not keep their promises

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“As long as the promises made to our country are not kept, we will maintain our position of principle,” Erdogan, who has been threatening since May to block the two Nordic countries from joining NATO, told parliament.

Turkey will not ratify the request of Sweden and Finland to join NATO “as long as the promises” they have made are not kept, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned today.

“As long as the promises made to our country are not kept, we will maintain our position of principle,” Erdogan, who has been threatening since May to block the two Nordic countries from joining NATO, told parliament.

“We are closely monitoring whether the promises made by Sweden and Finland will be kept or not, and of course the final decision will be made by our parliament,” he added.

Erdogan, who insists on the importance of “the fight against terrorism”, accuses the two countries of harboring Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), whom Ankara considers terrorists.

To date, 28 NATO member countries – out of a total of 30 – have ratified the request of Sweden and Finland to join the Alliance. Only Hungary and Turkey have not yet given their final approval.

In a major concession to Turkey, Sweden announced on Friday that it will once again allow exports of military equipment to Ankara. The lifting of these restrictions is among the conditions set by Turkey.

During the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June, Sweden, Finland and Turkey signed a memorandum which would open the way to the Alliance for the two Nordic countries.

However, the Turkish president immediately threatened a veto if all conditions were not met.

A Swedish delegation is expected to travel to Turkey on Wednesday and Thursday to continue negotiations.

One of the most sensitive points of the agreement concerns dozens of extradition requests to Ankara of Turkish dissidents, mainly Kurdish activists and members of the Gülen movement.

Stockholm and Helsinki emphasize that extradition requests are the responsibility of the judiciary, which is independent of the executive.

In early September, Finland rejected Turkey’s request to review six extradition requests.

Sweden had approved in August the first extradition of a Turkish national since the Madrid agreement, but he was accused of bank fraud.

RES-EMP

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