FT: Turkey Blocks Negotiations on Finland and Sweden's NATO Entry

During a briefing on 16 May, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey cannot say "yes" to Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO, adding that it is "impossible," as otherwise, the alliance would become "a place where there will be many representatives of terrorists. We cannot say yes, no offence".

Turkey has blocked NATO's decision to process requests by Finland and Sweden to join the bloc, Financial Times reported, citing a person "with direct knowledge of the matter".

According to the publication, NATO envoys met on Wednesday with the eye to launching accessions talks on the same day that Finland and Sweden submitted their applications but Turkey's opposition stopped any vote.

Earlier in the day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on NATO allies to "respect" his country's concerns over Finland and Sweden's membership in the alliance.

Regarding the two Nordic countries' bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, he said it was "controversial for countries to support terrorism and expect our approval".

Sweden should not expect Turkey to approve its NATO bid without returning "terrorists", the president added, speaking at the governing Justice and Development Party's (AKP) parliamentary group meeting in Ankara.

AK Parti TBMM Grup Toplantısı https://t.co/NWFkpHH1Qj

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) May 18, 2022

"NATO is a security formation, a security organisation, so we cannot say 'yes' to depriving this security organisation of security", underscored Erdogan.

According to him, the visit of delegations from Finland and Sweden to Turkey, scheduled for Monday to discuss NATO membership, is pointless.

"I have already said that they should not bother themselves. There is no need for this. We will not make the same mistake twice", President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Turkey has accused the two Nordic states of failing to extradite dozens of suspected "terrorists", in a reference to Kurds allegedly linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara designates as a terrorist organisation.

Earlier, both Stockholm and Helsinki officially announced their intention to apply for NATO membership following the launch of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. In January, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Finland and Sweden, if they apply for membership, will be able to quickly join the alliance.

However, Turkey, which joined the alliance in 1952, has been warning that it could block the expansion of the 30-member organisation. It has accused the two countries of supporting Kurdish militants, whom Ankara considers to be terrorists.

According to Ankara, Sweden and Finland have so far rejected requests from Turkey to extradite a total of 33 suspects allegedly linked to the PKK and the Gulen movement, which, Erdogan's government believes was behind a failed coup attempt in 2016.