Turkey weighs in on schedule for prospective NATO members

2022-06-15 12:34:35

(MENAFN) Sweden and Finland's NATO requests might be delayed for a year if they persist to house Kurdish organizations considered "terrorists" by Ankara, according to the chair of Turkey's parliamentary foreign affairs committee.

On Tuesday, June 14th, Akif Cagatay Kilic repeated that Turkey's earlier objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO are a "matter of vital national interest," and that Ankara is "prepared to prevent their membership for as long as a year if necessary." The MP further said that Turkey deserved "greater respect" because it has the "second largest army in NATO and has been providing drones to help Ukraine defend itself."

Kilic accused both Sweden and Finland of "harboring terrorist organizations" in explaining Turkey's opposition to Sweden and Finland joining the military alliance.

He disputed that the crisis was an election tactic to strengthen President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party before of a tough poll. Kilic said that non-Kurdish opposition groups supported Ankara's requests to NATO.

Stockholm and Helsinki, both previously neutral states, voiced a willingness to join the military alliance shortly after Russia attacked Ukraine in late February.

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