Joining of Sweden, Finland in NATO not acceptable as long as they cooperate against terrorism: Erdogan

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ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey will not accept Sweden and Finland joining NATO unless they cooperate against terrorism.

According to foreign media reports, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan telephoned NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg and expressed his concerns over Sweden and Finland’s accession to the NATO alliance.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey supports NATO’s open door policy but Sweden and Finland have to cooperate on terrorism and other issues.

On the occasion, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that the security concerns of all NATO allies would be taken into account, adding that talks were needed to resolve any issues in NATO.

It should be noted that Finland and Sweden have formally announced their accession to NATO, but Turkey does not seem to agree to join the two countries at present.

Turkey, which has the second largest army in the NATO alliance, has said it cannot support Finland and Sweden joining NATO in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

It should be noted that in order to become a member of the Alliance, the consent of all existing members of NATO is required.

 

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