July 19, 2022
1 min read

Turkey to freeze Finland, Sweden’s NATO bids

NATO’s 30 member states signed accession protocols for Sweden and Finland in early July, starting the process to admit the two Nordic countries into the military alliance…reports Asian Lite News

Turkey will suspend Finland and Sweden’s NATO accession process if they do not keep promises on counter-terrorism, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

“I would like to remind you that we will freeze the process if they do not take the necessary steps to meet our terms,” Erdogan added on Monday at a press conference after a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara, adding Sweden was “not showing a good image” for now.

“Our stance is very clear. The rest is up to them,” he said.

NATO’s 30 member states signed accession protocols for Sweden and Finland in early July, starting the process to admit the two Nordic countries into the military alliance.

The next step is for the parliaments of all NATO members to ratify their accession to NATO.

Finland and Sweden’s NATO bid was initially blocked by Turkey, which accused them of “supporting” anti-Turkish terrorist groups as they rejected Ankara’s extradition requests for suspects affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Gulen movement.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades.

The Gulen movement is led by and named after the US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen who is regarded by his followers as a spiritual leader. The Turkish government accuses the movement of masterminding the 2016 failed coup in which at least 250 people were killed.

On June 28, Turkey, Sweden and Finland agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) before Ankara lifted its veto ahead of the NATO Madrid summit.

In the MoU, Finland and Sweden pledged to support Turkey’s fight against terrorism, and agreed to address Turkey’s “pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly”.

ALSO READ-Truss backs Turkey to join Rwanda scheme

Previous Story

EU agrees additional 500mn euros in military aid for Ukraine

Next Story

India looks to deepen trade ties with Africa

Latest from -Top News

Singapore’s Ruling Party Achieves Landslide Victory

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, whose party won the election, thanked supporters.,..reports Asian Lite News Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) won 87 of the 97 seats in Parliament in Saturday’s general election,

Jaishankar, Lavrov Discuss Pahalgam Terror Attack

Both the Ministers discussed issues of Russian-Indian cooperation and the aggravation of India-Pakistan relations following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar spoke to the Russian Foreign Minister

Ukrainian forces to join VE  procession  

Ukrainian personnel will join around 1,000 UK armed forces members, including soldiers on horseback and military bands, to symbolise “the global support for their continued fight for freedom” against Russia  krainian armed

Rajnath Singh to skip Russia visit

The decision comes amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir…reports Asian Lite News Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will not likely attend Russia’s

WAVES 2025: Jaishankar Advocates Cultural Pluralism

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivered a powerful address at the WAVES 2025 Global Media Dialogue, highlighting the significance of cultural pluralism in shaping global change. Speaking on the second day of
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Thousands join pro-Palestine rally in London, Europe

In London and across Europe, marches took place on Saturday

Putin says plans to visit China next month

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin had in February this