Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar commented on the issue of Sweden and Finland joining NATO. In particular, the minister said that Ankara is still waiting for the fulfillment of the obligations given by the Scandinavian countries.. It is reported by Anadolu.
At the same time, Akar assured that Turkey does not refuse to support the Alliance's "
The Turkish Defense Minister reiterated that for Turkey there is no difference between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which the country considers terrorist, and its offshoot YPG (People's Defense Units) in Syria.
" And we expect friendly countries, allies to stop being stubborn and realize this truth,” said the head of the Turkish defense department..
Akar said that representatives of the PKK have carried out eight attacks since February 6.
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Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO last year after they were concerned about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.. Only two of the Alliance's 30 countries, Hungary and Turkey, have yet to ratify their applications..
Turkey has raised significant objections to the countries joining the Alliance, citing their support for Kurdish groups, which Ankara sees as a terrorist threat..
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Earlier it was reported that Turkey resumed negotiations with Sweden and Finland regarding their entry into NATO.. Ankara agreed to negotiate terms, acknowledging that the Scandinavian countries have made some progress in meeting its terms..
Representatives of Turkey, Sweden and Finland met at NATO Headquarters on Thursday, March 9, talking about the steps that have already been taken under the tripartite Memorandum on Combating Terrorism adopted at the NATO 2022 Summit.
What did they agree on? What are the chances of Stockholm and Helsinki that the Turkish parliament will approve their applications before the start of the NATO summit in Vilnius? Or at least until the end of the year? The answers to these questions are in the article by Vladimir Kravchenko “Earthquake diplomacy: will Sweden and Finland be allowed into NATO”?