Desk Report
Publish: 15 Jun 2023, 01:25 pm
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan || Photo: Collected
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said that Ankara won't change its approach towards Sweden's NATO membership bid at the summit of the Western alliance next month unless anti-Turkey protests stop in Stockholm.
"Turkey cannot approach the NATO bid of Sweden
positively while terrorists continue their protests in Stockholm, and the
position of Turkey would be made clear once talks are again held with Swedish
officials in Ankara on Wednesday," President Erdogan was quoted as saying
to the reporters on a flight which returned from Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
The comments were made by Erdogan before the officials from
Turkey, Sweden, Finland, and NATO held talks in Ankara on Wednesday with the aim
of trying to overcome objections of Turkey that have delayed the NATO
membership bid of Sweden.
“Sweden’s expectations don’t mean we’ll meet them,” said
Erdogan, while speaking to the Turkish media. “Sweden must, first of all,
eradicate what this terrorist organization is doing. In this picture, we can’t
have a positive approach," he added.
The remarks of Erdogan suggest his reluctance to approve
NATO membership of Sweden which is likely to continue even after the upcoming
summit of the alliance in Vilnius, Lithuania, next month.
In April, Finland was given the approval to join NATO after
Turkey ratified its bid in March.
Is Sweden compliant with the Madrid agreement?
Sweden has continued to claim that it is in compliance with
an agreement finalized at NATO’s summit in Madrid a year ago, which permitted
the process to move ahead. On June 1, a new anti-terrorism law was enforced in
Sweden, but Erdogan said that the country has not been able to anti-Turkey
protests so far.
Speaking on Sweden's legal changes, Erdogan stated,
"This is not only a matter of a law amendment or a constitutional change.
What is the job of the police there? They have legal and constitutional rights;
they should exercise their rights. The police should prevent these (protests).
Effective Crackdown
Turkish President Erdogan appealed to the security forces of
Sweden to carry out an effective crackdown on Kurdish militants to fully comply
with the agreement signed in Madrid.
“There are rights already given to security forces under laws, the constitution. Use those rights,” Erdogan stated as he recalled the battle of Turkey against separatist Kurdish militants in southeast Turkey. “If you are not going to use those rights then where is NATO’s struggle against terrorism? NATO must solve this. Otherwise, we would not say ‘fine’ in Vilnius," he added._agencies
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